


A Month Of Kaider

by WordsAblaze



Category: Lunar Chronicles - Marissa Meyer
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Jacinter, Romance, cresswell, kai and cinder are so in love, kaider, kaider is adorable
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-11-28 06:39:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 34
Words: 42,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11412354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WordsAblaze/pseuds/WordsAblaze
Summary: Just some fairly long daily drabbles for the life of AU Cinder and Kai... A Kaider tale.





	1. The End Of Hiding

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, a quick drabble every day! I started a little late so I'll end a little late but hey, stick with me! You can suggest stuff if you like :)

It's just another typical day at their sixth form. Another day of learning, wasting time, lectures from boring teachers, occasional rumours and, most importantly, counting down to when Cinder can leave.

Somehow, she hadn't predicted that it would be like this. She'd thought it would be more magical, full of friendships, borrowed kisses and endless supplies of knowledge. Before actually arriving, she'd assumed that it would be a life-changing, enjoyable experience that she could learn from.

So far, she'd only learned how to memorise facts and hide away enough to pick up the dramas floating around school.

Turns out that hiding from people is easiest done when you're accompanied by someone that everyone can't stop looking at - for her, that person was Winter.

Winter was certainly a good soul and, while she was sometimes downright worrying with her trances, she made up for any strangeness with her glamorous smiles.

This gave Cinder a good opportunity to hide and observe, focusing mostly on herself. And maybe that one boy who was totally different from everyone else. But mostly herself.

She'd joined last year, just in time for her first year of the A-level courses, suddenly moving in with Winter after her family had passed away. But she didn't mourn them and it wasn't that big of a deal. After all, she only truly loved one of her sisters.

And she didn't mind the school itself, just the students attending it.

Aside from that boy, but he wasn't that important, of course he wasn't.

She hadn't chosen her classes either, they'd been selected for her based on who knows what information.

She'd luckily snagged a place in production management and art, enabling her to work on her machinery designs during class. Humanities, languages and sciences were bearable, but the homework was a nuisance.

Not that she was complaining.

She'd gotten detention a few times for missing it, complaining about it it simply refusing to complete it, instead favouring other projects - something that Winter would never stop pestering her about.

Cinder sighs as she takes her coffee cup from the top of her locker, stretching to click her sore neck and stamping her feet as she walks to her next lesson. She doesn't stop to check before shoving the door open with her shoulder, immediately regretting her decision when she hears the unmistakable thud of the door hitting someone's face.

Not just anyone, she'd whacked the one boy she noticed more than everyone else. Cinder curses her luck.

"Ow!" the boy exclaims as the door bounces off his head.

"Oh stars, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit you!" She says quickly, silently thanking the universe for not making his jar smash as he'd dropped it.

She catches herself staring at the bright lights nestled inside the jar that look like stars and make it seem as if he's bottled up a part of the universe. She kind of wishes she could steal the jar and keep it with her forever.

"It's okay," he mutters as he looks up at her.

Cinder hands him back the unbroken jar and smiles sheepishly, "I'm really sorry."

"It's fine, I have a strong head." He grins at her, tightening the jar's lid.

Cinder laughs without even having to force it, the boy's serious tone having thrown her off for a second. He joins in, both of them mentally deciding they like the other even as they recover from their ephemeral hysteria.

"Sorry, are we in any classes together?" he asks.

"No, I don't think so." Cinder shakes her head.

The boy smiles widely, his somewhat stereotypical white teeth glowing at her, "I'm Kai."

He holds out a hand to shake and Cinder almost laughs at the formality but takes his hand anyway, "Cinder."

The warm solidity of his handshake doesn't go unnoticed and Cinder briefly wonders if he has parents involved in politics or something similar.

"That's such an awesome name!" Kai declares, then coughs, "I mean... it's very unique..."

Cinder smirks despite the warmth in her stomach, "Kai's a pretty amazing name too."

"Thanks."

Cinder would reply but she's too busy getting lost in his eyes, the copper colour so unusual that she can't help but stare. Kai blinks after a while, blushing slightly, "Is there still glitter on my face?"

Cinder almost punches herself, shaking her head, "No, of course not."

"Oh phew, I wasn't looking forward to explaining that again."

Cinder chuckles, "So I shouldn't tell you I'm curious?"

"Oh, definitely not." Kai winks.

Cinder grins, "What a shame, I was so looking forward to your tale of embarrassment."

Kai smiles at her again, his eyes crinkling, but catches sight of the clock behind her, "I'll see you round?"

"Sure." Cinder smiles, half-waving as he turns to the economics classrooms.

He probably wouldn't see her. After all, she did try her hardest to hide away from other people, especially boys like him.

She shakes her head, trying to warn herself that boys aren't worth it, but she can't deny the smile that stays on her face for the whole day. She can't deny it when Winter pokes her on the entire bus journey home and she has to try and hide her thoughts. And she definitely can't deny it when Winter wakes her up at half twelve just to ask why she'd been so unusually bright all afternoon.

Despite herself, she can't help wishing that she'll see Kai again, the sooner the better.

Who knows, he might just make up for the dreadful things school has to offer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go, that's the introduction. Let me know if you want me to write something, either here or on tumblr/wattpad/ff.net :) Leave a kudos or comment?


	2. Dialects Are Strange

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some fairly long daily drabbles for the life of AU Cinder and Kai... A Kaider tale.

Cinder can't help it.

She can't help noticing the boy after that one encounter.

It's not like she hadn't seen him around school before, but now it was as if he had a neon arrow above his head. A huge neon arrow that acts as a magnet for Cinder.

As much as she tries to avoid him, the universe goes against her and puts him in her line of vision anyway. Walking to lessons, she catches sight of him; when going to the library, she notices him hunched over a book; getting the bus home, she sees him walking.

Everywhere she goes, he turns up, one way or another.

And today was just another one of those days. Except, she does more than just see him, she actually crashes into him.

The two of them, quite literally, crash into one another.

They both have totally different reactions, Cinder cursing and rubbing her head, Kai apologising profusely and picking up both their books.

"Cinder?" Kai asks, smiling.

"Oh, stars, sorry, not again..." Cinder blurts, the most she's spoken to anyone in days.

"It's okay, we share the fault this time."

Cinder briefly wonders how it's possible for someone to be so nice.

"Right, well, thanks," she mumbles, taking her books back from him.

His eyes light up as he sees her technology designs. "Have you learned about robotics yet?"

Cinder smirks. "Of course, it's one of my favourites."

"Could you help me then?" he asks.

Cinder frowns. "Help you... with robotics?"

Kai shakes his head. "I did want to, but I wasn't able to take it."

Deciding to try and bypass the mournful look in his eyes, she asks, "What do you need my help for then?"

"I need you to help my robot."

"What?" Cinder asks, confused. "I thought you didn't take robotics?"

Kai shushes her, glancing around before smiling sheepishly. "I don't, but I do have a robot."

"How?" Cinder asks. "Half my class can barely get one to turn on, never mind fully function."

Kai gives her a strange sort of exasperatedly hopeful look and bites his lip. "Are you available after school?"

"Uh, sure, why?" Cinder asks, trying to keep the excitement out of her voice.

"Okay, could we meet at the oak tree?" Kai asks.

"Mhm."

"Ace! See you later!" Kai beams at her, his dimples immobilising her larynx as she manages to smile back.

She's aware of people staring at her with curiosity as Kai bounces away so she lets her messy locks fall over her eyes and sticks to the walls as she makes her way to Geography.

Winter giggles as she slides into her seat, nudging her. "What happened?"

"What does as oak tree look like?"

Winter frowns, "Tall, green, dense, usually shaped like broccoli?"

"That's what all the trees in school look like," Cinder huffs.

Winter raises an eyebrow, catching on quickly. "Who asked you to meet them near an oak tree?"

"Nobody."

"Come on, tell me!"

"Why does it matter?"

"Because the girls have a different default oak tree to the boys," Winter tells her.

"What? Why?"

"For someone who barely ever talks, you sure don't listen, do you?"

Cinder folds her arms and slumps in her seat, staring at the posters on the opposite wall.

"I'm guessing it was that prefect, right?"

Cinder shakes her head but Winter grins in satisfaction. "I knew it!"

All through the lesson, Winter whispers to her, the two of them debating which tree it could be. They settle on the one at the side of school, near the media room.

Cinder's next lessons pass in a blur and she tumbles out of the classroom, hurrying to the oak tree. Something in her calls this a stupid idea but she can't just throw Kai's warm, coppery eyes out of her mind, can she?

Kai's waiting for her when she gets there, looking as if he's fused to the tree. He looks up and smiles at her, "I thought you wouldn't come."

"Oh, why's that?"

"You seem impulsive," Kai replies. "But in the best way possible."

Cinder laughs. "Thanks."

"So, I presume that you'd like to know what I'm asking you."

"Do you always talk like that?" She asks without thinking.

Kai blinks, shrugging. "Yes."

"Why?"

"I don't see the problem."

Cinder shakes her head. "So, your robot?"

"She's not here with me, I just thought I'd explain the situation beforehand."

"Have you tried whacking her?" Cinder asks. "You'd be surprised at how often that works."

Kai's mouth quirks upwards but he nods. "I don't believe-"

"We're not talking about religion, stop with the believing."

She might seem bored or disinterested but, internally, Cinder's freaking out. Where on earth is this weird sarcasm coming from and why is it only there when she's with Kai?

Kai smiles bashfully. "My apologies. I mean, sorry."

"It's okay, you can talk however you want," Cinder smiles apologetically.

"Thank you."

"So, what's the problem with your robot?"

"Her storage files are inaccessible."

"Storage files? Who built your robot?"

"She was originally designed by one of my father's associates but, with the help of research, I've added and taken certain components away since then."

Cinder nods. "Well, can you bring her to me?"

"Where would that be?"

Cinder thinks for a minute. "Can you bring her into school? That's probably convenient, right?"

"It would be preferable to drop her at your house but if school suits you-"

"At mine would be good," Cinder interrupts. "It'd be a lot easier actually."

Kai looks relieved, handing her a small slip of paper. "That's my phone number."

Cinder frowns.

"I thought you might need it, to send me your address?"

"Oh, yeah, of course."

Kai smiles at her, "Thanks, Cinder!"

"No problem."

"Do you need a lift home?" Kai asks.

"Don't you walk?" she asks, then blushes as he gives her a bemused look.

"How do you know that I walk?"

Cinder shrugs, panicking. "I've seen you."

Kai looks a little concerned but smiles anyway. "A lift is always an option."

"If you're worried about people seeing you, then don't worry. You're not even recognisable! It's just that, um..." Cinder trails off, cursing and wishing for that sarcasm back.

Kai chuckles sweetly. "That's a relief. Did you want a lift then?"

"No, it's okay," Cinder mumbles, wanting the ground to crack and swallow her up.

"Alright then, have a good- uh, catch you later?" he amends, running a hand through his hair.

Cinder smiles. "Yeah, see you."

She certainly hopes she will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed, see you tomorrow! Leave a kudos or comment?


	3. More Than A Project

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some fairly long daily drabbles for the life of AU Cinder and Kai... A Kaider tale.

Cinder groans along with the rest of her class as the teacher announces yet another group project that involves a different class.

It's always tedious and tiresome to work with another class, none of them appreciating the ice-breakers and awkward decisions that come with new groups.

"It's going to be the old lady's class again, I bet," Winter whispers in her ear.

She laughs back. "I bet you my new headband that it's not."

Winter grins. "Ready to see me wear it then?"

"I'm going to wear it, just you watch." Cinder nudges her cousin, both of them expecting Winter to win the bet and for them to be paired with the boring class as usual.

The two of them almost fall out of their seats when Kai pushes open the door with a smile on his face as he says, "Hello, we were told that the project is commencing in this classroom?"

"Commencing?" Winter asks under her breath, shared an incredulous look with a couple of girls across the room.

Cinder practically glowers, giving her a very pointed look. Winter squeals quietly, "This is him?"

"Don't make me regret telling you!" Cinder hisses, then looks to their teacher, who's currently speaking to Kai as if he's a fellow teacher and not another student.

"Cinder, he's hot. You're a perfect match!" Winter goes on, giggling.

Cinder glares at her but then shrugs. "I agree with the first part."

Winter smiles. "I never thought you'd be the one to fall in love at first sight."

Cinder elbows the other girl but can't help sharing her grin, remembering the discussions they'd had about who would fall in love first, and how.

"He had a galaxy in his jar." Cinder knows her justification isn't strong enough. "And I've not fallen into anything."

"You're hopeless," Winter shakes her head, "I have been a bad influence on you."

Even Kai looks bored as their teacher stops talking to him and starts writing instructions on the board. Kai turns to the girl next to him and rolls his eyes at her, the two of them sharing a smile before telling everyone else the plan.

Cinder feels an odd mixture of sympathy and jealousy, trying her best to ignore the latter.

"So, get into your group-work pairs then," their teacher orders.

Cinder and Winter just stay where they are, having agreed to stick with one another for the classes they're both in. Neither of them are willing to spend so much time getting to know someone else when they could be gossiping with each other, even if it is mostly Winter doing the talking.

"Is your group in pairs?" Their teacher asks Kai, who nods, acting as their group's spokesperson.

"We are. Are you doing it alphabetically?"

"No, you can just choose."

Cinder almost chokes, their whole class exchanging confused mumbles of shock. What exactly had Kai done to make their teacher allow non-alphabetised groups?

Of course, none of them are surprised. Kai's charm is one of the many reasons why he's a prefect in the first place.

Kai flashes their teacher a smile and their class starts moving, sliding into available seats. It's only a few seconds before the chair opposite Cinder is occupied – by Kai himself.

"Hey Cinder." He smiles.

"Hey," Cinder replies, shocked that he remembers her name,

"I'm Winter." Winter smiles brightly as the other boy sits down.

"He's Jacin, he doesn't like to talk much," Kai says on behalf of the stoic blond.

Winter just smiles with a twinkle in her eyes, "So, how are we splitting this project?"

The four of them delve into negotiations, Kai doing most of their pair's arguing and Winter staying mysteriously quiet for half of their discussion. Not that Cinder minds of course, getting to hear the soft cadence of Kai's smooth voice. She's almost annoyed that they manage to settle their roles so quickly.

But, later, when she's waiting for Kai by the oak tree, she's glad to have settled their roles so quickly.

She knows that she can Kai work well together, the two of them already working on Nainsi. Kai doesn't exactly know as much as Cinder but he's a useful second opinion.

"Sorry to make you wait," Kai whispers as he comes up behind her.

She claps a hand over her mouth to stop her screaming, her heart pounding.

Kai grins ruefully. "My apologies."

"Is- is that a bruise?" Cinder asks, reaching up to poke Kai's forehead, on the edge of his hairline.

Kai shakes his head, laughing. "No, of course not. It's the shadows from the Oak Tree. Now, shall we get going?"

Cinder shrugs. "Sure, are we going to yours?"

Kai runs a hand through his hair, letting the dark strands drape over his eyes. "I thought you would perhaps like to work on Nainsi in addition to our project?"

Cinder laughs. "You've figured me out quickly."

"I take it that's a good thing?" Kai asks innocently.

"Yeah, it is, don't worry." Cinder smiles at him, a genuine smile.

"Are you alright with walking?" Kai inquires.

"Yeah, sure. How far away is it?" Cinder asks. "Your house, that is."

"Perhaps half an hour or so."

Cinder stops to stare at him. "You walk alone for half an hour?"

Kai gives her a slightly confused look so she continues, "I mean, doesn't that just drive you mad? Being alone with your mind?"

"On the contrary, it gives me time to organise my thoughts," Kai says.

"You're so weird."

Kai winks at her. "Yeah but you love me really."

Cinder freezes, stares at him in shock, then bursts out laughing, having to lean on his shoulder to stop herself doubling over.

"What, you didn't believe that I was capable of such phrases?" Kai asks, raising an eyebrow.

"You're impossible," Cinder breathes, "Actually, truly impossible."

"And you're only just realising this now? Stars, I must up my game," Kai mock scoffs.

Cinder can't remember the last time she's laughed so hard, tears in her eyes and an ache in her stomach.

Kai returns her giddy grin, the two of them laughing the whole way to his house. Ten minutes or two hours, she can't tell; Kai seems to be timeless.

"Welcome to my humble abode." Kai sweeps his arms in a welcoming gesture.

"You don't have to do that every time!" Cinder protests, still recovering from her hysteria.

Kai makes a face. "Why, of course I do, it's only polite."

"I don't care about being polite," Cinder mumbles, rolling her eyes as subtly as possible.

"I saw that!" Kai calls over his shoulder as he walks to the kitchen.

"How?" Cinder asks, taking the glass of water he hands her.

"It's simple, you have to be aware of your surroundings, know what you can use to your advantage," He gestures to the mirrors on the walls. ", and always keep your guests within line of vision."

Cinder whistles, impressed. "That's clever."

"I'm aware." Kai winks.

"Ego much?" she mutters but she doesn't really mean it, knowing that he's pretty humble compared to others in their school.

Plus, he's bubbly and polite. A little bit of self- confidence is allowed when it's balanced out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three down, twenty eight to go! Leave a kudos or comment?


	4. Drink Less, Talk More

Cinder exhales as Kai switches Nainsi on, the two of them sharing a hopeful glance as he tries to access her storage files.

They get to the very last defence mechanism before Nainsi abruptly stops and sends tiny sparks showering upwards, around the whole room.

Kai reacts faster than Cinder, turning her around and putting his arms around her shoulders before ducking away himself, both of them bending over to protect their faces.

The two of them stay like that for a minute or so, long enough for Cinder to wonder if Kai can hear her quickened heartbeat.

He pulls away and quickly switches Nainsi off, sighing. Then he goes quiet, a thoughtful look on his face, meaning that he's feeling kind of down - something that Cinder's managed to pick up on.

"Argh!" Cinder kicks the wall as Nainsi powers down. "We were so close."

"It's okay, I'm certain that we'll figure it out sooner or later."

"Your optimism is so annoying." Cinder rolls her eyes as she rubs her foot, regretting her earlier outburst already.

"Nah, you love it really," Kai jokes, then frowns. "Is your foot okay?"

"It's not going to fall off so I'll be fine."

"Well, if you're absolutely certain. Don't worry; if it does fall off, you can sue me."

Cinder smiles then, quickly fixing her messy ponytail and leaning agaisnt the wall. "Now what?"

Kai smiles. "Now we take a lengthy break and find ourselves some refreshing beverages."

"Translate?"

"We go to a café." Kai winks.

Cinder laughs. "I really hate your weird way of talking."

"No, you don't," Kai replies without missing a beat.

She doesn't disagree, both of them grabbing their jackets and heading out.

Kai leads her down alleyways she didn't even know existed until they get to a small, cosy café. He smiles and pulls her inside when she hesitates, his hand surprisingly cool compared to her clammy ones.

She orders first, asking for a regular cappuccino, before chuckling quietly as Kai orders a toffee hot chocolate for himself.

"You don't like caffeine or what?"

"Coffee is bitter and I prefer toffee." Kai sticks his tongue out as the two of them slide into an empty table so they don't get in the way while they wait.

"Remind me how you manage to get up in the morning without caffeine?" Cinder jokes, but her curiosity is clearly visible.

Kai just smiles, "You've never heard of an alarm clock?"

Cinder rolls her eyes, "I don't have one."

Kai stares at her, "How do you – do you just dream of caffeine?"

"I don't think I dream at all..." Cinder says softly.

Kai's expression softens. "Not at all?"

"No."

She stops herself from saying more as the waitress brings them their drinks but Kai doesn't let it go, gently kicking her leg under the table. "Cinder?"

"I used to dream of being queen," Cinder blurts. "How lame, right?"

"No, I used to pretend I was an emperor and Torin was my second in command." Kai grins and Cinder shakes her head at the thought of young Kai ordering the garden plants to abide by the laws and arresting stray cats for trespassing.

"Torin? Isn't he your neighbour?" Cinder asks before taking a small sip of her cappuccino.

"Indeed he is, but I'm over at his house almost all of the time." Kai informs her.

Cinder smiles at him sadly and sighs, "At least you had a second in command..."

"You don't have anyone you'd choose for that position?" Kai asks, the two of them knowing their conversation is getting a lot more serious.

"Uh, maybe Winter? Or Iko?"

"Who's Iko?" Kai inquires.

Cinder pauses before replying, "A friend. She was my best friend before we had to move."

She has to focus on not frowning at her memory of Iko. She doesn't even know if the other girl is still alive.

"Oh, I apologise."

Cinder gives him a small smile, "So formal."

"None of your siblings are suitable?"

Cinder scoffs, "Yeah and have to fix all their problems? No thanks."

Kai jumps at her harsh tone but shrugs. "We'll just have to find Iko then."

"Do you have siblings?" Cinder asks, realising that she's never asked him that before, and wanting to change the topic.

"No. I sometimes wish I did but I don't think they'd enjoy very much."

Cinder frowns at the statement but he doesn't expand on it so she leaves it be for now and says, "I wish I didn't have any. At least I'd have a proper bedroom then."

Kai seems to be having an internal battle with himself and eventually he decides to ask: "You don't have one now?"

"No, but I have a mattress in the attic."

Kai ponders for a minute. "How about a sleepover?" He offers.

Cinder blinks, shocked.

Kai smiles sheepishly. "It'd have to be at Torin's... He has two spare rooms if you're not comfortable sharing one and I think there are two showers as well but maybe not so we'd have to-"

Cinder laughs, "Okay."

Kai exhales with relief but coughs, "How does this evening sound? It's the weekend, and the weekend was not made for attics."

Cinder inwardly smiles at his painfully awkward rambling and takes a sip of her now-colder-than-ideal coffee, listening to the tone and cadence of his voice rather than the words he's actually saying.

"Sorry, what?" Cinder asks as Kai sends her a questioning look.

He laughs and shakes his head at her. "You didn't register a word of that, did you?"

"Uh... Of course I did."

Kai winks. "Don't worry, I've been told that my voice often has that effect on people."

"Yeah yeah..." Cinder mumbles but she has to hide her smile anyway.

"Are you guys gonna order?" A waitress asks out of the blue.

Kai raises an eyebrow at her. "I'm sorry but, last time I checked, beverages are considered as items that one can order."

The waitress blushes, clearing her throat. "Right. Sorry. Okay, well, enjoy your drinks then."

Cinder smiles, sharing a slightly hysterical look with Kai but stifling her laugh to avoid drawing attention to themselves.

Something inside her clicks; she knows what Winter will say when Cinder tells her about this moment: she'll say what Cinder herself is thinking.

Cinder's starting to like Kai much more than she's ever liked anyone else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go, part four! Hope you enjoyed... Leave a kudos or comment?


	5. Better Than Any Gift

Cinder laughs with Cress.

The two of them exchange a fond smile as they watch Kai and Thorne argue about something even whilst baking. Well, whilst Kai bakes and Thorne tries to help here and there.

Cress giggles as Thorne trips Kai, who accidentally squirts icing all over Thorne's hair, making him groan and aim a light punch at Kai, only to miss entirely.

"They're so immature," Cinder comments.

"We're spying on them," Cress points out with a shy smirk.

Cinder has to mentally thank Kai for his people skills and for introducing her to Cress.

Kai had met Cress at a programming course that Cinder had refused to accompany him on, working on her design project instead. It turns out that this had been a good idea because she hadn't had any time to work on it after he'd come back.

Cress had stayed mostly hidden behind Kai the first time they'd met but the tiny girl had quickly warmed up and it soon became a routine for her to braid Cinder's hair on every occasion.

"Yeah but we're just making sure they don't burn the place down." Cinder waves a hand, trying to justify their current situation.

Cress giggles, "Kai can cook better than you."

Cinder makes a face, pretending to be annoyed. "You're meant to be on my side!"

The two of them giggle as Thorne runs a hand through his hair and makes a small Mohawk. Kai seems to care more about the teaspoon but apparently approves the choice, if Thorne's grin is anything to go by.

"I can't believe he's following orders…" Cress shakes her head as Thorne roots through the cupboard to find a packet of chocolate chips for Kai.

"Maybe it's because he's doing it for you." Cinder smiles at Cress, who blushes immediately.

Thorne had actually joined their group through Cinder, when the two of them had gotten detention for fighting. Not fighting each other, but fighting alongside each other and breaking someone else's nose. Although they'd both sworn it was a complete accident.

Kai's moral compass had struggled to cope with Thorne at first but the two boys had soon come to an agreement, even if it did involve an awful lot of arguing. It's not as if it was serious conflict, just friendly bickering.

Kai and Cinder had also secretly vowed to help Cress' obvious crush on Thorne turn into something more. They'd had to recruit Winter, who'd happily joined them, the three of them trying their best to be subtle.

It's not long before the boys are done, Cinder and Cress having to pretend that they weren't spying on them. The girls head back to the living room, where the boys join them after a few minutes. The four settle on watching a Disney film that Cinder's never heard of, settling into the sofa with minimal complaints and chucking the cushions to the other end of the room to make more space.

Cinder shifts a little as Cress takes charge of the remote, her unbelievably precise pausing skills deemed to be the best.

"What did you bake?" Cinder whispers to Kai as the film starts.

"I'm fairly certain you could tell from the ingredients we were using," he murmurs back.

Cinder elbows him with surprise, "Did you guys know we were watching?"

"Thorne didn't but I saw you," Kai says under his breath. "Could you speak any louder?"

"How?" Cinder asks, blushing sheepishly and replying in the same, hushed tone.

"I can always see you." Kai gives her a cute, lopsided grin and squeezes her hand.

Cinder softly kisses his cheek and rests her head on his shoulder, smiling to herself. The fluttering in her heart does not go unnoticed but the movie does, Cinder making a mental note to watch it again when she's not too busy thinking about the boy she's leaning on.

His hand finds hers, their fingers intertwining as if connecting had always been their sole purpose. Cinder flexes her fingers, loving the pretty much smooth skin of his hands as opposed to her own, slightly rougher hands.

The four of them don't move until the film is over, an hour and a half later. Cress jumps up first, pulling Thorne up with her. He grumbles but kicks Cinder, who kicks him back and pulls Kai up.

"Let's see if our amazing culinary skills have paid off, yeah?" Thorne suggests, but it's not really a suggestion, sounding more like a a voiced mutual agreement.

"It's beautiful," Cress breathes as Kai pulls the cake out of the oven and sets it on the table.

"Why, thank you." Thorne smirks, bowing and tipping a non-existent top hat.

"Yeah, you must have put so much work into it," Cinder says, trying not to sound as if she's exchanged her larynx for a sarcasm manufacturer.

"Blood, sweat and tears." Thorne clutches his chest dramatically.

"I hope not, that wouldn't taste very nice." Cress pulls a face and makes Thorne beam.

"There's that sense of humour!" he says excitedly. "I knew you had it in you."

They grab their plates and head back into the living room, still discussing something Cinder doesn't bother to decipher as they go.

Cinder smiles at that but turns to Kai.

"What is it?" Kai asks her gently.

"Thank you."

"I'll make the icing better next time." He grins.

Cinder shakes her head, "That's not what I'm thanking you for."

Kai looks confused, "But I've not given you anything else."

"I'm not talking about a gift or anything," Cinder explains.

Kai looks confused, raking his fingers through the locks of hair falling onto his face.

"You've given me friends," Cinder whispers, and wraps her arms around him.

Kai envelopes her in the warmest embrace before smiling, both of them getting lost in each other's arms.

"It really is my pleasure," Kai murmurs, the words reaching Cinder as soothing vibrations.

Despite being aware that they could easily overbalance and knowing that Thorne or Cress could walk back in at any moment, neither of them move, instead remaining lost in each other's affection, matching smiles on their faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter five is complete, introducing Cresswell, yay! Leave a kudos or comment?


	6. There's Always A Reason

Cinder trips.

Every single sheet of paper slips out of her folder as she loses her balance.

She groans, bending down to pick them up and ignoring the quiet chuckles from the other people in the corridor.

"Cinder, are you okay?" she hears someone ask and looks up to see Kai's copper eyes shining with concern.

"Yeah, I just tripped," she mutters.

"Over what?" Kai asks, sliding some of the papers back into her folder.

Cinder sighs, shrugging. "Probably my laces."

Kai glances at her shoes, his expression softening. To her surprise, he doesn't give her the typical look of pity, a determined look in his eyes.

"What? What is it? What are you planning?" she asks suspiciously.

"I don't believe that you're particularly interested in shopping, is that correct?"

Cinder narrows her eyes. "No, I don't, why?"

Kai just winks. "I'm sure you'd enjoy it significantly more if I accompanied you, right?"

Cinder stares at him.

"You're most likely thinking on the right lines. I am going to take you shopping," Kai declares, a mild degree of authority laced in his voice.

Cinder gives him an uncertain look. "What's the reason for that?"

"We shall purchase some new shoes for the wellbeing of your feet."

Cinder rolls her eyes, an action she's been doing a lot lately, and shakes her head. "Are you serious?"

"Of course I am. I hope you're alright with what you're wearing."

"Kai..." she warns.

"Cinder..." he mimics, handing her a stray piece of paper. "No arguements."

"But-"

"I'm a prefect, remember?" Kai smirks.

"You wouldn't give me detention," Cinder argues, but her focus is mostly on how good Kai looks wearing a smirk.

"I gave Thorne a detention," Kai reminds her.

"That's because you two were at war with each other for some reason." Cinder frowns.

Kai chuckles. "That's irrelevant to our current situation. I'll meet you outside your textiles room."

"How do you know I have textiles?" Cinder asks, laughing.

Kai just taps his nose. "A magician never reveals their secrets."

"It's 'his secrets', you nerd!" Someone else scoffs.

Kai turns to them, smiling. "Who says all magicians are female?"

Cinder chuckles, shakes her head, and walks to textiles. It's just a catch-up lesson where everybody is working on their term projects so she can relax, having completed hers already.

She's the first to leave, punching Kai's shoulder immediately. "Seriously, how did you know?"

"You've told me in the past!" Kai rubs his shoulder as if mortally wounded.

"Okay, fine, whatever. How are we getting there?" Cinder asks.

Ten minutes, one argument about opening the window and a few ridiculous jokes from Torin later, the two of them arrive at the shopping centre.

"What kind of shoes do you want to look for?" Kai asks, entwining their fingers.

"I don't really care," Cinder replies, smiling at their hands.

"Ankle-length boots it is," Kai decides, pulling Cinder along.

She laughs, still shocked at how well Kai knows her, and the two of them head to the few shops that actually sell boots.

Turns out, there isn't a lot of shops that sell boots.

They look for no less than an hour before finally finding one that does offer ankle-height boots, the kind Cinder wants. Once inside, it takes Cinder ten minutes to find one that has the right mix of comfort and practicality, at which point both of them agree to never come unprepared again.

Still, they have enough energy to find the nearest coffee shop, Cinder grabbing them a table while Kai orders. Kai slides into the seat opposite her once he's placed their order, as per their usual routine.

"That was an adventure."

"No, it was a hassle," Cinder says, letting her head drop thud onto the table.

Kai chuckles, moving the menu so it doesn't get stuck in her hair. "You've got better shoes now."

"True." Cinder's voice is muffled, sounding more like a hum than an actual word.

"That was quick," Kai says to himself as their drinks are called, getting up to go grab them.

Cinder perks up at the sight of coffee - or rather, caffeine.

As she takes her cup from him, she noticed he's gone for a hot chocolate again, this time with marshmallows. Cinder laughs at his choice but almost chokes as he winks at her over the rim of his cup.

"I hate you!" Cinder mutters when she stops coughing.

"I hate you too," Kai replies coolly, schooling the worried look off his face.

The smallest smile paints itself on Cinder's face so she stops talking and has a sip of her coffee, trying not to choke or burn her throat. The two of them relish the comfortable silence until Kai spots someone.

"Cinder, we need to leave, now." Kai stands, picks up the shopping bag, and pulls Cinder out of her seat.

She frowns but goes with him, knowing that he probably has a reason, which he does. That reason happens to be Cinder's eldest step-sister, Pearl, who'd just walked in with her usual group of friends.

"Thanks, Kai." Cinder grins, dropping her empty cup in the bin as they walk back to the parking area.

Kai smiles. "No problem."

"Why did we come here?" Cinder asks.

"Why did we leave the shop...?"

"No." Cinder shakes her head. "Why did we come shopping?"

Kai bites his lip.

"Why did you bring me here, Kai?" she persists.

Kai sighs, tightening his grip in her hand. "We came because you tripped over the laces falling off your old, worn shoes. We came because it isn't fair for you to miss out on durable shoes and have problems walking. We came because... because I care about you, Cinder, and I just-"

He rakes his free hand through his hair, sighing. "I wouldn't want to see you get hurt or be inconvenienced because of something I could have easily helped with."

Cinder's smile could break a world record, her face genuinely aching from the strength of it. "Kai, that's-"

"Stupid, I know, my apologies," he murmurs.

"-the sweetest thing anyone's ever told me," Cinder finishes, nudging him.

Kai looks up at her with a powerful beam. "Really?"

"Yes, you complete cinnamon roll."

Kai looks slightly bemused. "Is that a good thing?"

Cinder just laughs, winking. "Take a guess."

"I'd guess that it's not a bad thing," Kai says happily.

"And you'd be right." Cinder takes the bag from him. "Thank you for these."

"You'll be welcome when you wear them," Kai says cheekily, but shyly.

The two of them share an amused smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone on FFN asked and I thought I'd share it here too: While I'm aware that they're not all the same age in the books, I've decided to make it that way in this AU to avoid any complications in how they know each other. The whole gang are starting their A-level courses (I mentioned this before, I believe) which means they're in year 12, ie turning 17 this academic year. Leave a kudos or comment?


	7. Three Words To Conclude

Cinder sighs as they strap themselves into the rollercoaster.

She wouldn't have come to the theme park in the first place if Kai hadn't begged her over and over again as well as making the puppy-dog eyes he knows she can never resist.

"Hey, Cinder, you okay?" Kai asks softly.

She would have replied, she really would have, but they jolt forwards and suddenly speed up. She bites her tongue and grabs Kai's hand, lacing their fingers and squeezing as hard as she can.

He makes a slightly pained sound but cheers with everyone else as they descend into the loop, almost equally matching her grip.

She keeps her eyes shut for most of the ride, opening them only when they slow down for a bit.

"Why did we slow down?" she whispers.

The wild, excited look in Kai's eyes and his crazily cute smile is worth the funny feeling in her stomach.

She's seen it many times before, since he's such an easily excited person, but there's something about being on the top of a roller-coaster that really heightens excitement.

"We're about to go down again. You can close your eyes if you want." Kai has to shout, his voice rougher than it usually is because of all the cheering.

"It's okay." Cinder takes a breath and keeps her eyes locked onto Kai as they rush downwards, both of them grinning in exhilaration.

She keeps her eyes open for the rest of it, a small making its way onto her face by the time they slow to a complete stop. As they stumble past everyone else and Kai buys a couple of photos she doesn't get a chance to see, she links her arm with Kai's, not caring about who else can see them.

"See? I told you it'd be fun," Kai says smugly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Alright, alright." Cinder rolls her eyes but the smile on her face gives her agreement away.

"Would you like to go again?" Kai asks.

"Are you mad?"

He looks so dejectedly confused that she shoves him lightly. "We have so many more to try!"

His mirthful laugh is the most pleasing sound she's heard all week as he kisses her cheek softly. "Thank you for coming."

"I had nothing better to do," she shrugs, pausing for a few seconds. "And I may have just really wanted to come."

Kai smiles at her. "You're the best."

"If you say so."

So they go and find more rides to try out, each one better than the last, Cinder's nerves diminishing as she spends more time with Kai.

She can't put her finger on it but there's something about Kai that makes her brain go haywire. There's just something about the fact that Kai chooses to spend time with her instead of all the other girls who would probably literally kill to take her place.

The two of them grin as they see an artist making caricatures and Kai catches the mournful look on Cinder's face, knowing she doesn't have any money to spend but will never ask for him to pay.

"Come on, let's get one done!" he suggests, already pulling her over.

She hesitates, "Kai, I-"

"Oh hush, I don't mind. This is what my birthday money is for anyway."

Cinder goes to interrupt him again but Kai just pulls her along with him, and their linked arms makes it hard for her to stop.

"She's available, come on." Kai smiles.

So Cinder just smiles back and the two of them sit relatively still as the artist draws them. They keep glancing at each other and smiling but the artist doesn't seem to mind, fondly shaking her head at them as if she's used to people doing this, which she probably is.

"Did you want two copies?" She asks as Kai pays her.

Cinder starts to shake her head but the artist smiles and adds, "I can photocopy it if you want. It won't cost you as much as the original."

Kai beams. "Yes please."

Cinder gives him an incredulous look but the sketch is already being photocopied so they can both have their own copy of it as a souvenir - a souvenir that's much more meaningful than a water bottle or a hat.

They end up with a large art folder that the artist gives to them as a bonus because she thinks they're too cute to be real, Cinder insisting she has to carry it round to pay him back. And she does, taking it all around the park and placing it beside her when they crash at the end of the day.

The two of them end up sitting under the largest tree they can find to avoid the sun's glare and cool down after running all over the place. Kai stays as upright as possible but Cinder just slumps, too tired to care about her posture - not that she ever does anyway.

Kai smiles as he stretches his legs. "Do you want to see the rollercoaster photos?"

"Sure," Cinder agrees, leaning her head on his collarbone and feeling the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

They flick through all the photos, laughing at some and fondly grinning at others. But there's one that she simply adores: the first roller-coaster's photo.

The two of them have one hand clasped together and the other in the air. They're both grinning and her hair is a wild mess, similar to Kai's, but that's not what Cinder loves about it. She loves that they're gazing at each other with pure joy in their eyes, a picture of love and perfection.

She looks up to find Kai staring at her with the same affectionate look in his eyes, and can't help the blood rushing to her face.

"I…" Cinder stops, unsure of herself.

Kai laced their fingers together and kisses her cheek softly. "I love you."

And, although a picture is supposed to say a thousand words, she's more than content with three.

The three words that send the butterflies on the flowers beside them straight to her stomach. The three words that cause the smile on her face to widen beyond what should be biologically possible. The three words that she'd never had directed towards her until now.

Just like that, all the pain she'd ever felt from watching other people exchange those words disappears, replaced by a soft explosion of warmth inside her heart.

Cinder shuts her eyes and wraps her arms around Kai, pure happiness running through her blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there's a significant event, because seven is a good number... Leave a kudos or comment?


	8. Fixing Lots At Once

Cinder lets her head fall on the table.

Ignoring the dull ache that immediately arises, she shuts her eyes and sighs.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Kai asks her quietly, already having predicted this and moved her food tray to avoid Cinder getting a face full of mashed potato.

"I don't know, something feels wrong," Cinder mumbles, keeping her head on the table.

Kai puts an arm around her and rubs her shoulders. "Would you like to talk about it?"

"No."

"Do you want to mumble about it?" Kai asks, pushing her hair back.

Cinder laughs fleetingly, turning her head to look at him. "You're unreal."

"I sincerely hope that isn't true," Kai replies, smiling.

They share a smile, Kai patiently waiting as Cinder bites her cheek and stays silent.

"Winter won't talk to me," Cinder says finally, frowning sadly.

Kai thinks for a minute. "Has she damaged her vocal chords?"

"No?"

"Is she perhaps having a bad time at the moment? You tend to go quiet and she does share your genes."

Cinder gasps, nodding. "Kai, you're a genius."

"So I've been told." Kai winks. "Go and talk to her."

"Thanks, Kai." Cinder kisses his cheek before getting up and racing to the textiles room.

And, just as she'd thought, Winter is hunched over a long, yellow piece of silk.

"Winter?" Cinder asks hesitantly.

Winter looks up but doesn't say anything so Cinder walks over to her and coughs. "I'm sorry."

She watches as Winter stops sewing to look at her with a puzzled expression, then carries on: "I'm sorry for avoiding you, I thought you were avoiding me."

Winter smiles. "No, I'm not avoiding you."

"Winter, what's going on? You've not properly talked to me for almost a week."

Winter sighs, fiddling with her hands. "My, uh, hallucinations have been getting pretty bad."

Cinder's face softens; she knows how real the visions can seem to Winter and she's seen the damage they can cause to her confidence and self-esteem.

"Have you talked to someone about it?" Cinder asks as gently as she can.

"No, and I don't know who to tell," Winter confesses.

It's just then that Cress walks in, and spots them. "Oh, hey guys!"

"It's over there, and it looks really beautiful." Winter smiles and points to the dress Cress had designed, which is what she'd come to look for.

Cress blushes. "Thanks."

Cinder grins as well, but for a different reason. "Hey, Cress, isn't your Dad a doctor?"

Cress nods. "Yeah, why? Are you guys hurt?"

Winter, catching on, shakes her head. "It's not physical…"

"Oh?"

Cinder looks to Winter, silently asking if she's okay with telling someone else about her condition. Winter nods after a moment so the two of them turn to Cress, who looks extremely nervous.

Between the two of them, they explain Winter's problem, Cress filling in the gaps.

"Do you want to come over this weekend? My Dad can do an assessment and try to help you, if that's something you're comfortable with?" Cress asks kindly.

Winter nods happily. "That would be wonderful."

Cress fidgets for a moment, glancing at Cinder. "It has to be by yourself though."

Cinder laughs. "Don't worry, Winter's done this before, we're okay with that."

Cress looks relieved, beaming. "Oh, good. Are you guys coming to eat?"

Cinder can see the hesitance in Winter's eyes but she nods for the both of them anyway, not wanting Winter to be alone if she's feeling down.

"Winter, come on, I'm sure that Jacin wants to see you."

"We all want to see you," Cress adds, smiling encouragingly.

Winter nods. "Okay."

Cress quickly puts her dress in one of the cupboards and Winter packs hers up, Cinder watching the two of them and tapping her feet in rhythm to nothing in particular.

The three of them make their way back to the dining hall, slipping into the seats the others had saved for them.

Jacin immediately whispers something to Winter, who laughs brightly; Cress slides next to Thorne, stealing one of his strawberries; Cinder kisses Kai's temple, just before sitting down, as an act of gratitude.

"Did you fix the problem?" Kai asks softly.

"Yeah."

Kai beams at her and Cinder decides now is the right time so give him something in return.

"I want to show you something," Cinder mumbles, pulling Kai up.

The others barely even bat an eye, all of them used to each other leaving without much warning.

Cinder leads Kai the media room they use solely for programming, logging on to one of the computers and opening up the program they'd learned about the day before.

She would have brought him to see it yesterday but she hadn't quite figured it out then and she didn't want to get Kai's hopes up only to shoot them down again.

"Is that…?" Kai trails off as Cinder nods excitedly.

"We can use it for Nainsi," Cinder whispers, grinning.

Kai's eyes light up and he wraps his arms around her, smiling. "Thank you."

"Not yet, we don't know if it works."

"True, but you're helping, which is more than I should be able to ask for."

Cinder shakes her head. "It's the least I can do."

Kai pulls back, lacing their fingers together. "It's really not."

Cinder frowns at the statement but doesn't dwell on it too much, instead deciding to explain the software to Kai, who nods along even when he looks utterly bewildered.

The two of them stay there until Cinder's teacher walks in. "Oh, hello."

"Sorry, I was just showing Kai the program from yesterday," Cinder explains.

He smiles at them. "That's fine, but you probably need to head off now."

Kai smiles as Cinder starts logging off. "Thank you so much."

"No problem. I can't report you for learning, can I?" He chuckles.

Cinder rolls her eyes, pretty sure that he would have if Kai hadn't been there. He's probably the only student in school who can compromise with every single teacher, and most of the students as well.

As they leave, Cinder asks: "Are we working on it today?"

Kai shakes his head. "I'm awfully sorry but my parents have invited some guests over for tonight."

Cinder nudges him. "It's okay, we'll do it tomorrow."

Kai nods, grinning, his eyes sparkling.

Cinder suddenly starts to see why all the girls in her year – and other years – try so hard to flirt with Kai.

She's on the verge of trying it herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This got over 700 views on FFN and I'm very elated! Day eight done, thanks for 59 hits... Leave a kudos or comment?


	9. Concerns For The Cold

Cinder knocks on Scarlet's door, stepping back just in time to avoid being whacked as it swings forwards.

"Cinder, you came!" Scarlet grins.

"Of course I did," she replies.

The two girls share a hug before Scarlet closes the door behind them, immediately turning to Cinder with a mischievous look.

"Kai's in the garden if you want him."

"Who said I-?"

Scarlet cuts of her off with a knowing look, "It's established. Just like we know Cress will follow Thorne."

"And Wolf will follow you," Cinder adds, accepting that she and Kai are, quite often, joint at the hip.

Scarlet grins. "And Jacin will follow Winter."

"Silently." Cinder rolls her eyes and Scarlet chuckles, nodding in agreement.

They make their way to the living room, where Cress squeals and jumps up, "Cinder! Is your hair brushed?"

"Yeah," Cinder replies, "And hello to you too."

Cress immediately sits Cinder down and Scarlet shakes her head at them, "Make it a waterfall braid."

Cress ponders this and nods, "Yup, that's a good idea."

"Which one's a waterfall braid?"

"The one that makes Kai call you a mermaid," Thorne grins at her, "every time."

Cinder blushes but scoffs, "It's not like you don't call Cress an angel every other day."

Before Thorne can retort, Scarlet comes in with a worried expression, "Has anyone seen Winter?"

The three of them share a confused look just as Kai pokes his head into the room, almost falling but somehow managing to regain his balance at the last second.

"I have a missed call from Jacin but I can't seem to get a hold of him! Have either of them arrived here yet?"

He gives Cinder a fleeting smile. "Hey Cinder, I simply adore the mermaid hair, it looks absolutely beautiful! Cress, you're so talented!"

Scarlet, Thorne and Wolf all blink as he carries on, "Does anyone have a car I could perhaps borrow?"

Cinder, blushing but more used to his fast talking, throws him her keys.

"Can I ask that you call me if I haven't contacted you within half an hour?" He requests.

Then he's gone.

He's out of the door and starting the car before anyone can ask for his plan. But it's okay, because Cinder had managed to nod her agreement.

"How does he do that?" Wolf asks, disbelief evident in his voice. "Even my Mum can't do that."

"Well, I was right about him commenting on the mermaid hair," Thorne says finally.

"Do you think Jacin and Winter are okay?" Cress asks, her fingers still twisting Cinder's hair into a braid.

Scarlet nods fiercely, "Of course, they'll be fine."

"You don't win anything for guessing he'd say that." Cinder glares at Thorne, who only flashes her a smirk.

The five of them spend the next twenty three minutes chatting and catching up on their recent weekend stories, as well as throwing in a few snacks here and there.

Cinder jumps as her phone rings, "Hello?"

"Cinder? We're on our way, their car broke down."

"Oh, phew. We'll be waiting, stay safe."

Cinder hears him hum in acknowledgment before he hangs up.

It's seemingly strange how the two of them can communicate with hums but Cinder loves it, and accepts it as a normal part of her life with Kai.

"Are they safe?" Scarlet asks, beating the rest of them to it.

"Yeah, their car just broke down," Cinder informs them.

Cress squeaks as there's a clap of thunder outside, jumping and crashing into Thorne.

"It was just fine a while ago... " Wolf turns on the spot, going to close the back door so the kitchen doesn't get wet.

Cress squeaks again, burying her face in Thorne's chest.

"Hey, you're good, nothing's getting past me." Thorne wraps an arm around her shoulders protectively.

Scarlet puts a hand on her heart, her face softening at the sight of them.

But only for a minute.

After that, she reboots into her usual motherly mode and closes all the windows, shutting the curtains and switching the lights on.

Cinder can't help her heart twisting at the thought of the other three out in the rain.

Unfortunately, she has to wait a further ten minutes before there's a knock at the door. She knows it's not Kai because he has a soft yet succinct knock, but this one is frantic, messy, desperate.

Sure enough, Cinder opens the door to see a soaking wet Winter.

"Winter!" she gasps and pulls her cousin inside. "Are you okay?"

"J- J- Jacin got h- hurt and Ka- Kai's…"

Scarlet stops her and drapes a blanket over her shoulders, then looks to Wolf.

He gives her a nod and pulls up his hood before opening the door.

As Cinder and Scarlet try to get Winter warm again, there's thuds and shouts outside. Cress is still curled into Thorne, who's softly singing to try and calm her down.

Wolf and Kai burst through the door, carrying Jacin between them, who looks the most dishevelled Cinder's ever seen him.

Wolf calls out immediately, "Scar, Jacin's hurt."

Before Scarlet can get up, Cinder's running out of the living room and throwing her arms around Kai. He stumbles, Wolf having to prop Jacin against himself to stop the blond from falling.

"Kai…" Cinder breathes, dimly aware of her t-shirt getting soaked.

"H- hey." Kai shivers, his teeth chattering.

Cinder gasps as she notices how pale he is, his lips tinged purple and his whole frame shaking from the cold.

But he's fine.

And that's what matters, that's what calms her down, that's what lets her breathe again, that's what frees the smile flying across her face.

"I was worried, you stupid…" she takes a deep breath, sighing again.

"I k- know, I lo- love y- you too," Kai chatters.

Cinder smiles, rubbing his arms and planting the softest kiss on his nose, thinking the words she can't say: I love you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone asked on FFN but I'll say it anyway: I personally believe that Cinder is someone who doesn't quite know what love or a relationship entails so, while she's aware that she likes Kai, she isn't able to recognise the difference between friend and boyfriend, due to lack of experience. That's why I think she's able to exchange what she believes are perhaps friendly kisses, not knowing that they're something people who are dating do, and also because she just feels close to Kai and doesn't want to question it in fear of losing what she has with him. Don't worry, I'm going to acknowledge that soon! DTR as they say ;) Leave a kudos or comment?


	10. The Return Of Auburn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Slight innuendo?

Cinder wraps an arm around Kai, trying to physically hug the shivers away from him.

He grins up at her, his eyes brighter, his hair drier and his skin already looking healthier.

"What happened?" Thorne asks. "We only fixed your car a few days ago."

Winter shakes her head. "We didn't actually break down."

Kai looks up, seemingly surprised. "How did the two you end up crashed amongst the trees with a broken car then?"

Jacin shakes his head. "I don't exactly know. I think someone crashed into us and I ended up spiralling. Just when I thought I had us stable again, they came back. I only caught a glimpse of auburn hair before we span again and everything went black…"

"And then Kai arrived," Winter finishes.

Scarlet looks confused. "Someone purposely hit you?"

"Twice?" Cress asks, her voice a whisper.

Kai frowns. "Who would dare?"

The other seven of them share a proud, albeit amused, look as Kai's expression morphs into a protective one. They all know he's too sweet to even jokily elbow someone, but that's not to say he doesn't have other ways of getting revenge on their behalf – perhaps more deadly ways than throwing punches.

"Where's the car now?" Cinder asks, simply wondering out loud.

Wolf shakes his head. "That's not a priority. Jacin, we need to get your leg looked at."

Winter looks up sharply. "Leg? Jacin, what's wrong with your leg?"

She shares a look with Cinder before whispering something to Jacin, who nods and whispers something back, the two of them branching away and starting their own conversation.

Cress coughs. "I can get my Dad to take a look at Jacin?"

"No, we couldn't ask that from you," Cinder says with a smile.

"But it'd be so easy. Winter's going anyway so Jacin could just tag along with her." Cress blushes as everyone stares at her.

"She's got a point," Wolf decides. "But Jacin's the one who has to choose."

"I wasn't going to let Winter go on her own anyway," Jacin informs them, smiling.

"There's still the matter of the person that crashed into you," Scarlet reminds them. "Why would someone try to hurt you?"

Winter shakes her head, clueless. Jacin seems the same, shrugging and slipping a hand into Winter's to comfort her.

"There's got to be some reason, right?" Cinder asks.

"Maybe they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time?" Cress suggests.

Kai looks uncertain. "If that were the case, the person wouldn't have returned to hit them the second time."

"You're right. But, for now, we all need to watch Netflix and chill," Thorne declares.

There's a moment of silence.

Then they all burst out laughing.

"That is not what I meant," Thorne says sheepishly, but grins anyway. "Though maybe in future, eh angel?"

Cress reddens, hiding behind her hair and burying her face in Thorne's jacket.

Cinder scoffs. "Trust you to say that, Carswell."

"What did I say about calling me that?" Thorne grumbles, but he's smiling anyway.

Kai looks kind of uncomfortable, which Cinder had expected, so she kisses his cheek. "Are you warmer yet?"

"I can feel all of my limbs, which is good enough for me," Kai whispers.

"Winter, you okay?" Scarlet asks, her mother hen showing.

Winter nods so they cram onto the two sofas they'd hastily shoved together earlier, bickering about which film to watch first before deciding to let Scarlet choose, since she'd sat closest to the DVD player and would have to be the one to get up and start the next one anyway.

Curled up there, completely wrapped in Kai's shared embrace, Cinder forgets about the car fiasco and lets herself enjoy their movie marathon.

Her hand in Kai's as they pass round the popcorn and snacks, she can dismiss the thoughts plaguing her mind and relax with her friends.

Walking home with Kai, Cinder leaves behind the theories circling in her brain and lets her hands swing casually between the two of them.

But, later in the evening, when she's sat with Winter, she can't do any of those things.

Because Jacin's story had reminded her of something.

Winter catches on, not letting her sleep until she tells her cousin what's bothering her.

"Cinder, come on, what is it?"

"No, it's nothing, I don't need to bother you with this, especially after today."

Winter sits up in her bed, crossing her legs and somewhat glaring at Cinder. "Spill."

"Jacin said the driver had auburn hair…"

Winter swears, claps a hand over her mouth, shrugs as if accepting it, and nods at Cinder.

"My mother, she has a sister…" Cinder starts.

"…who had auburn hair," Winter finishes.

The two of them groan, paling with the realisation that they're not as safe at it would seem.

"We need to tell my parents," Winter says eventually.

"We can't, what would we say?"

"It doesn't matter, this is serious and they'll believe us."

Cinder bites her lip and thinks about it. "What if they make us move house?"

Winter opens her mouth to reply but thinks of Jacin and Kai, frowning.

"Winter, I can't lose him, I…"

"I understand," Winter whispers softly, and she means it. "But your Aunt is so much worse."

"No, Winter- I… Kai is- I can't leave him..." Cinder trails off, unsure of what she's saying.

Winter smiles, laughing. "Stars, Cinder, you're so hopeless."

"What?" Cinder frowns.

Winter shakes her head. "You'll understand soon, I'm sure. Now, what do we do?"

Deciding to let the comment go, Cinder reluctantly makes up her mind: "We tell them."

"Together?" Winter asks.

"Yes."

"Now?"

Cinder doesn't need to glance at the clock to tell her that it's too late; she shakes her head.

"It's way too late, we'll tell them tomorrow morning."

Winter nods, both in agreement and due to sleepiness.

Cinder laughs quietly, gently throwing a cushion that hits her chest and wakes her up enough to push her backwards so she can fall asleep like a regular human being instead of looking like someone froze her on the spot.

Winter sleepily pulls her duvet up and Cinder does the same, letting her hair down before shutting her eyes.

Her dreams are filled with Kai's copper eyes and her Aunt's auburn hair, the two clashing fiercely – as if in battle – despite being so similar.

Cinder, even in sleep, hopes that Kai wins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the hint of tension. This has 1000 views on FFN and I don't think I've quite recovered yet :) Leave a kudos or comment?


	11. Suspicious Colours

Cinder stops, staring.

Kai’s talking to someone.

It’s not that he never talks to people – quite the opposite in fact; Kai’s one of the most sociable people in the whole school, somehow able to converse with just about anyone about pretty much anything at any given time.

But Cinder’s stomach awkwardly flips as she sees Kai talking to a girl.

He’s outright told Cinder that he loves her, but she can’t help the burning feeling of unease that overtake her senses when she scans the girl.

She doesn’t seem to be a student, wearing a dark, shimmering bodycon dress that leaves her shoulders and collarbones bare, the unpatented material elegantly draped around her upper arms and hugging her curves as she leans against the classroom door.

Her hair is shorter than Cinder’s, the pressed locks cascading to a stop just past her shoulders. And yet, it’s far more mesmerising than Cinder’s, clearly meant to attract attention.

Cinder’s not the only one staring, practically everyone is.

Her hair is dyed blue, but not a simple blue. It’s darker than the ocean but lighter than a winter sky, sleeker than a river but livelier than thickened paint. It’s the colour of a chilled night, the colour of rich silk, the colour of deep sadness, the colour of poisoned ice, the colour of midnight. 

And it perfectly matches her outfit.

A plain silver chain hangs around her neck, a small pendant, in the shape of an ‘s’, dangling just beneath her jugular notch.

Kai is almost six foot tall but the girl’s battle stilettos make her so much taller, almost as tall as him, the velvet straps fastened around her skin like small curtains of confidence.

Cinder nervously walks up to them, schooling a scowl onto her face.

But the girl laughs, flicks her hair with a perfectly manicured hand – her nails, unsurprisingly, also painted the same shade of blue – and turns on her heel, sashaying through the staffroom door, completely ignoring Cinder.

“Cinder, hey!” Kai beams, lacing his fingers with hers.

“Who was that?” Cinder asks. “Hey to you too, by the way.”

“I’m not fully certain but I believe she’s one of the teacher’s daughters.”

Cinder hums in response, a little more relieved but not sure why.

“Kai, I, um, I need advice,” Cinder blurts awkwardly.

Kai smiles. “Sure, fire away.”

Cinder grins before she can. “You and slang…”

Kai winks and pulls her over outside, where nobody can eavesdrop. Cinder makes sure there’ nobody around before taking a deep breath.

“You know Jacin’s car?” she waits for Kai to nod before continuing, “I think I know who crashed into it.”

Kai’s eyes widen. “You do?”

“Yeah. I think... I think it was my Aunt.”

Kai looks stunned, his eyebrows furrowing. “You think it was your Aunt?”

Cinder nods. “She’s the only person I know with auburn hair, it has to be her.”

Kai bites his lip. “Cinder, it could have been someone else with the same colour hair.”

“Kai, how many people have auburn hair?”

“Statistically, less than two percent of the world’s population…” Kai informs her, then sighs.

“Of course you’d know that.” Cinder gives him a fond, exasperated look. “And, exactly. It had to be her, I just don’t know if I should tell Winter’s parents or not.”

“Of course you should,” Kai replies immediately. “You should tell them about anything that puts you and Winter in danger.”

“But what if they don’t believe me?”

Kai shrugs, squeezing her hand. “It’s worth a shot anyway if it gives us even the slimmest chance of keeping you both safe, unhurt.”

Cinder smiles at him. “You’re amazing.”

Kai kisses her cheek. “So you’ve said,” he murmurs.

Cinder blushes, grinning, and the two of them head back.

Kai and Cinder are deep in conversation when the Principal coughs next to them, making Cinder jump and Kai stand up with a smile on his face.

“Hello, is everything okay?” he asks, as if on autopilot.

Cinder rolls her eyes.

“Actually, could I ask you to do something?”

Of course he’d ask that, Cinder thinks, why else would he approach Kai in the middle of lunchtime?

“Of course,” Kai replies brightly. 

“Could you show my daughter around school? I’d like her to enrol here but she’s not sure about her decision yet.”

Cinder looks up, curious, and freezes.

Turns out that Kai was right about the girl being someone’s daughter.

Kai looks somewhat tense but nods at the Principal. “Of course, I’d love to.”

The girl smiles, brushing her hair over her shoulder and grinning, looking between Cinder and Kai with a curious glance; that’s when Cinder catches sight of her eyes.

She gasps.

The orange, yellow and brown strokes of colour melting together in the girl’s eyes are stunning, in both a good and bad way.

Amber eyes.

She’s only ever known one group of people to have such eyes, such vibrant, mesmerising, deceitfully beautiful eyes.

Cinder mumbles something about needing to go see their art teacher to collect the homework before grabbing Kai’s wrist and pulling him with her as she makes her way out of the room.

Kai looks confused for a moment, but goes with her plan, trusting that she has a good reason to be borderline insulting to the Principal – which isn’t an unusual occurrence anyway.

Cinder sighs as they get far enough. “Kai, she’s with her.”

“Who’s with who?” Kai asks, sounding utterly oblivious.

Cinder nudges him. “I am not going to let her trick you away from me.”

“I don’t understand,” Kai says truthfully.

“The blue girl, she’s with my Aunt.”

Kai takes a few second to connect the dots but eventually nods in understanding, much to her relief, and asks: “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. Kai, statistics for amber eyes?” Cinder asks, knowing that he’s able to store all this information with no extra effort. 

Well, no extra effort when compared to most. Cinder knows that he works hard to be on top of his game, genuinely spending an unhealthy amount of time in the library for both leisure and research.

“Maybe five percent? They’re extremely rare.”

“But everyone who works with my Aunt has them, it’s how we recognise her employees.”

“Cinder, I don’t understand what you want me to do,” Kai confesses.

“Just… don’t trust her, okay?”

Kai shrugs. “Okay, I’ll stay on alert.”

“Thank you,” Cinder breathes, hugging him.

He hugs back, passing comfort, reassurance and trust between them.

Cinder just hopes her Aunt isn’t here to stay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop, there we go, some plot and tension! Leave a kudos or comment?


	12. The Family Nobody Wants

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Panic attack.

Cinder drums her practically non-existent nails on the bus window.

Unlike most days, she doesn't see Kai walking back because he's had to stay behind and help the girl who wants to enroll with them.

Without even knowing her name, Cinder despises her with a burning passion. But she can't exactly explain that to the Principal, and she can't stop Kai from doing his prefect responsibilities.

"Are you ready to tell them now?" Winter whispers, pulling her from her thoughts.

Cinder nods, having talked to both Kai and Winter about this. "Yeah."

Winter smiles. "Good. I knew you were brave enough to do it."

The two of them travel in silence until they get home, then Winter links her arm through Cinder's and the two of them walk inside, ready to unveil their secret.

Cinder stops in her tracks when she sees both Evret and Solstice waiting for them in the living room, solemn looks on their faces.

At the same time, Winter freezes, her elegant composure melting as she sees the look on her parents' faces.

"We have something important to discuss with you," Evret tells them.

"What's happened?" Winter asks, Cinder unable to speak because of the fear burning inside her heart.

"It's about Cinder." Solstice gestures for them to sit down.

"Mum? Dad? What is it?"

Solstice sighs. "Before Cha- Cinder's parents passed away, they signed some documents."

"About what?" Cinder asks quietly.

"About who would look after you if they were ever no longer able to," Solstice replies.

Cinder's face pales, but Winter frowns. "What are you saying?"

"Cinder's adoptive parents have been in contact," Evret says.

Winter shuts her eyes, gasping, and looks for Cinder's hand to clasp.

"And they want me to-" Cinder stops, trying to breathe.

"They've requested that you go live with them," Solstice says, her voice cracking.

Cinder's knees buckle and she stumbles, falling onto Winter, who guides them both to the sofa.

"How can you just let this happen? We're family!" Winter shakes her head angrily.

"There's nothing we can do. They're not fostering her, they've got adoption papers and that overrides our authority." Evret explains. "And, as I'm sure Cinder knows, they are technically related to her already."

Cinder shakes her head, groaning.

"Already related?" Winter asks.

"Cinder has a step-mother and twostep-sisters," Solstice says, confirming Cinder's thoughts.

"You're not serious?" Winter fumes.

"I'm afraid we are," Solstice intones. "You have about a week left with us."

"No," Cinder mutters, getting up and ignoring their worried looks.

She runs.

She runs out of the door, she runs down the street, she runs through the park, she runs past the strangers giving her odd looks, she runs until her lungs ache and then she runs some more.

She ends up crashing near the forest, sliding down under a tree and bringing her knees up to her chest, hiding her head in her arms.

Her heavy breathing fades into huge gulps that lead to panicked gasps.

She can't see the trees, she doesn't know where the sky is and she can't tell what time it is, the birds too loud, the ground too hard, the smell of wild flowers too strong.

She can't breathe.

Just when she thinks her lungs are going to collapse, someone kneels beside her.

They kneel to one side of her, pacing two of her fingers on their wrist so she can feel their pulse. Their other arm wraps itself around her shoulders, pulling her close and providing warmth.

Just by the warmth and solidarity of their embrace, she can tell who it is. Even before that, she could recognise their soft, familiar hands.

Of course it would be him.

Who else would leave everything to find her? Who else would risk getting lost to get to her? Who else would give up their time to stay with her?

"Come on, Cinder, breathe with me, match my pulse, you're okay, I'm here…"

The person incessantly murmurs the words, not stopping until she can breathe in time with him.

"Kai…" she breathes, going limp against him.

He kisses her forehead. "It's okay, just breathe with me."

Cinder knows that she's shaking but she can't feel anything except the hum of Kai's voice telling her that everything will be okay.

It takes her a good half hour to calm down, at which point she looks up at Kai.

He's smiling at her, his copper eyes shining with concern and reassurance.

"Th- they s- said that… said that I- I have t- to… to g- go live w- with th- them…" Cinder stops, flinching at the sound of her own voice.

Kai doesn't let go of her, running his hands through her hair slowly, soothingly. "I know."

Cinder nods, immensely thankful that she doesn't have to explain. She's never felt so lost, so unable to function, that she can't even form a single sentence.

Kai laced their fingers together. "Hey, I'm here for you, you'll be okay."

Cinder shakes her head. "I- I've met... m- met them o- once b- before a- and they're... they're not g- good."

Kai's hand stills for a second before carrying on. "What do you mean?"

Cinder shakes her head, curling up into Kai as much as possible. "Ev- Evret and S- Solstice d- don't kn- know..."

Kai kisses her hair softly. "It's okay, I understand."

"N- no you, you d- don't..." Cinder gasps. "Y- you have a... a perfect l- life..."

Kai flinches so hard that a heavy guilt settles in Cinder's stomach despite how upset she is.

He swallows. "Right. A perfect life," he echoes, his voice surprisingly flat.

"Kai?" Cinder asks, getting no reply for a good five minutes.

"Sorry. How about we get you back home?" Kai suggests gently. "You'll probably catch a cold if you remain here."

Cinder nods, letting Kai pull her up. The two of them walk all the way back, Cinder leaning on Kai right up until he knocks on her door.

Winter's the one who throws the door open, visibly sagging with relief as she catches sight of Cinder, soon joined by Evret and Solstice, who share the same look.

Cinder smiles as best as she can, which is, admittedly, terrible.

"Thank you, Kai." Evret claps a hand on Kai's shoulder, nodding to him.

Kai smiles. "It's no trouble."

Winter sends Kai a questioning glance but he shakes his head, clearing answering a question Cinder hadn't noticed Winter asking.

He squeezes her hand as a goodbye, murmuring his 'I love you' quietly enough that only she hears it before turning.

Cinder smiles as she watches him go, thanking the stars that she's met him at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really going with this drama now, sorry [not sorry]! Leave a kudos or comment?


	13. Pros Of Packing

Cinder laughs without thinking.

She can't help it.

It's just the absolutely determined expression on Kai's face that sets her off until she's doubled over, gasping, tears squeezing out of her eyes as she laughs.

She doesn't recover for a good while, Kai sort of gazing at her with an amused expression the whole time.

"What did you find so amusing?" Kai asks.

Cinder shakes her head, looking back to the suitcase lying on her bed. "I don't even know."

"Of course you do, Cinder." Kai doesn't force her to say anything, instead going back to folding the few clothes she owns.

"Okay, maybe I do..." Cinder sits down beside him and crosses her legs. "It was you."

"I'm glad to be a source of entertainment for you," Kai murmurs, finishing the last t-shirt.

"You don't have to fold it all, you know?"

Kai shrugs. "It's giving me something to do."

Cinder cocks her head. "What, I'm too boring for you?"

"No, of course not, that's not what I meant..." Kai looks up sharply, almost nervously.

Cinder laughs, kissing his cheek. "I know, don't worry."

Kai opens his mouth to ask something but bites his lip instead, smiling broadly.

"What is it?" Cinder asks.

Kai shakes his head. "It's nothing, really."

Cinder knows that he'll just evade any more questions so she leaves it be for now, looking round the room for anything she wants to take with her.

"How far away do they live?" Kai inquires.

Cinder shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know, they haven't told me yet. It's not too far though, according to Evret."

"Don't worry." Kai smiles. "I'll be there no matter how far away the universe sends you."

Cinder's heart goes haywire.

She stares at him in shock for a solid minute before lunging forwards and throwing her arms around him.

He yelps and topples backwards, his back hitting the floor with a muted thud and Cinder landing on top of him.

She only tightens her hold, burying her face in his shoulder. Kai laughs and settles his arms around her back, lacing his fingers together to keep Cinder stable.

"Thank you," Cinder breathes.

Kai kisses the top of her head. "My pleasure."

Cinder shakes her head. "I've never had anyone say anything like that to me."

"There's a first time for everything," Kai quotes.

Cinder lifts her head up and looks down at him, smiling at the shine in his eyes. She moves her arms slightly, so they're beneath his head, and shuffles so she doesn't accidentally kick him or something.

"Is this what it's like to be in a relationship?" she asks.

Kai raises an eyebrow. "That depends on what kind of relationship you believe we're in."

She runs her fingers through his hair absently, thinking.

"I don't know. I've never had any kind of relationship, to be honest."

Kai nods. "That's okay. What kind of relationship would you like us to have?"

Cinder lets her gaze wonder before returning to Kai. "I don't think this is friendship."

Kai chuckles. "There are many kinds of friendship, Cinder."

She nods but then shakes her head. "No friendship I've heard of is meant to be like this."

"Like what?"

"Like everything I need... Like warmth and happiness and comfort... Like adrenaline... Like I'm suddenly more alive than I ever was... Like I can't work properly if I'm not near to you... Like you've become a part of me... Like I'm the centre of the world."

"You are the centre of the world."

"I'm pretty sure that's lava or something."

"You're the centre of my world."

Cinder blinks.

Kai gently guides them both upright and intertwines their hands.

"Would you like to be my empress?"

Cinder laughs. "Not a girlfriend?"

"Remember how I used to dream of being emperor?" Kai asks, smiling. "I'd like you to be a part of my dream."

For the third time, Cinder can barely feel herself breathing, lost in Kai's words.

Kai smiles, his dimples making an appearance, and blushes, coughing nervously.

"That settles it," Cinder says softly.

Kai gives her an inquisitive look.

Cinder clears her throat. "You're the only person I'd ever want as my emperor."

Kai grins, clearly elated.

Cinder smiles. "Imagine what Winter would say if we told her that..."

Kai laughs. "Okay, so maybe we'll have to use more mundane terms to tell other people."

Cinder chuckles. "They'd go crazy..."

Kai gasps between laughs: "Just think of how hilarious their expressions would be..."

"And imagine their confused looks..." Cinder laughs.

"So..."

"Maybe we can say..."

"We should go with..."

"Boyfriend-?"

"Girlfriend-?"

They glance at each other, laughing.

"Jinx?" they chorus.

If anyone else had witnessed the moment, they would have called them both giggling idiots.

Cinder laughs harder than she's ever laughed before, but there's a part inside of her that melts, forming a river of affection with Kai's name on it.

Kai suddenly gasps: "Your suitcase!"

The two of them scramble to finish the packing, Kai shutting his eyes as Cinder laughs and shoves the more specifically 'female' items of clothing into the suitcase.

Kai sits on top of it as Cinder closes the zip, not because she has too much stuff, but rather so that he can kiss her forehead as she looks up again.

By the time they actually get round to locking up the suitcase, the two of them couldn't care less about the whole moving away situation.

And, even though they haven't forgotten about it, they can leave that problem aside for now, choosing to laugh about nothing and everything at the same time.

"So..." Cinder smiles. "are we meant to do anything else in particular?"

"As a couple?" Kai asks.

"Yeah?"

Kai shakes his head. "We are required to upgrade our cheese levels."

"Cheese?"

"I hope you're not lactose intolerant, because I've been told I'm a very cheesy person." Kai winks

Cinder giggles. "If I was lactose intolerant, the pain would be worth it."

"That's so cheesy!" Kai chuckles.

Cinder laughs again, for what must be the billionth time, pushing her hair back and trying to memorise the swirls of what look like gold in Kai's copper eyes.

Hopefully, she'll always be able to see them anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing beats some good old DTR, am I right? Anyways, leave a kudos or comment?


	14. Finding Perfection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry in advance, I don't know how good this will be...

Cinder holds her breath.

She steps back as Kai goes to once again switch the droid on, having lost count of how many times they've tried this before.

They do this each time, getting their hopes up only for them to fall again. Well, Kai somehow manages to stay optimistic but Cinder damages her foot, and the wall, a little more after every failed attempt.

As Kai steps back so he's right next to her, he laces their fingers together.

"This is the one, I'm sure, it'll be perfect," he whispers, and she laughs, nodding absently.

She and Kai watch as Nainsi's eyes flicker before fully lighting up, a cool blue glow arising.

Kai's voice is calm as he navigates through Naini's interface but Cinder can feel the hope rising in his tone. And, just like every other, she hopes that his hope won't have to fade away.

For once, it doesn't. Or, at least, not yet.

This time, Nainsi accepts the navigation command she usually rejects, opening up more and more of her mainframe.

Kai gasps, clutching Cinder's arm in excitement. She internally laughs at his childish behaviour but she's doing the same, her eye wide with curiosity because they've never gotten this far before.

"Storage files available," Nainsi declares after a moment.

After a pregnant pause, they both grin.

"You did it!" Kai yells, his voice somehow still smooth.

"We did it!" Cinder corrects, yelling even louder.

Without missing a beat, they turn and envelop each other in the warmest embrace they can manage. Kai's arms are wrapped around Cinder's shoulders and her arms are wrapped around his middle.

They're locked in their embrace until Kai pulls back a little, gazing down at her with a bright sparkle in his eyes. The two of them smile with pride for a finite eternity, their intermittent laughs full of joy and contentment.

His laughter has never been so melodious and Cinder can't help the bubble of something unknown that floats in her heart. She can't even help how fast her heart is beating, her pulse drumming so hard she's afraid it might burst through her skin.

Kai's expression is the first to turn into one much more serious, his gaze dropping to Cinder's lips.

She watches his gaze flicker between her lips and her eyes, eventually nodding at him once she understands what he's trying to ask.

His fringe is messily flopping over his forehead, there's a hint of a bruise on the side of his cheek and his coffee - coloured skin is smudged with either oil, pen, or a mixture of the two.

But Cinder's never seen anything as beautiful.

Slowly, cautiously, he leans down, tilting his head ever so slightly to the right.

Cinder watches his lips until she can feel his breath and brush her nose against his – which she does.

He chuckles, doing the same and making her giggle, a sound that can rarely be associated with her. The two of them let their noses collide over and over for far too long, laughing uncontrollably like immature toddlers.

Then Kai's leaning forwards and Cinder's shutting her eyes, tilting her head up and trying not to forget how to breathe.

She does forget.

She can't help it.

Kai's lips are soft, warm, explosive.

The unfamiliar heat that comes from their skin making contact sends shivers down her spine and soft explosions of joy through her skin.

Then Kai moves and their lips rub against each other and Cinder's never felt anything like it.

She gasps, and Kai's bottom lip slips between the two of hers, sending all sorts of shivers through her. She can taste the hot chocolate he's been drinking, and suddenly that's her new favourite drink.

Kai moves back a little so they can breathe, Cinder only remembering to gulp in air as she opens her eyes to lock gazes with Kai.

He practically giggles. "You taste like coffee."

Cinder giggles back, letting their noses brush. "You don't like it, do you?"

"No, but I like you."

Cinder grins, and she can feel his smile as she takes his lip between hers. Kai chuckles quietly, but Cinder doesn't exactly hear it, she feels it - as small fireworks against her lips.

She shuts her eyes again as a reflex, gasping as Kai's hands gently move to either side of her head. Somehow, this doesn't faze her, his tender touch the most comforting thing she's ever felt in her whole life.

She pulls her arms from around Kai and does the same to him, cupping his face with her hands and letting her thumbs rub circles on his cheekbones.

He shivers at first and Cinder inwardly cringes, knowing how cold her hands must be. Despite this, he doesn't allow her to pull away, letting his mouth move against hers in rhythm to their heartbeats.

Their elbows, bent between them, brush against each other, and Cinder can barely register the multitudes of shivers travelling along her arms.

And she doesn't know what she's meant to do with her tongue or if she should open her mouth or –

Her breath hitches.

Kai's tongue softly runs over her bottom lip and she can't move, the tingling feeling that he leaves behind overtaking her other senses.

But then she's doing the same, opening her mouth and letting their kiss deepen until she can't tell if she's breathing or not because she's sharing the air with Kai.

They're breathing as one, moving as one, existing as one, and Cinder never wants the moment to end.

Then their tongues retreat and her lips are simply moving against Kai's, but that's more than enough, and she can't help wondering exactly why they've never done this before.

She's lost in the faint taste of chocolate, lost in the soft feel of his lips, lost in the gentle touch of his fingertips on her skin.

She's lost in Kai.

She's so lost that the beeping from Nainsi startles her and she jumps, her eyes flying open.

Kai yelps as she accidentally bites his lip instead of her own, the metallic taste of blood slipping into their kiss.

"Sorry!" Cinder breathes, moving back only enough to separate their mouths.

Kai runs his tongue over his lip before chuckling, resting his forehead against hers and rubbing circles on her temples as his eyes sparkle. Cinder shuts her eyes again and tries to recall the definition of bliss, pretty sure that whatever it is should be replaced with this moment.

"Sorry about your lip," she giggles, adrenaline still coursing through her blood.

"That's okay," he giggles in return, shutting his eyes in attempt to calm his breathing.

And Cinder just stares.

She stares at the crinkles on either side of his eyes, she stares at the dimples she can never get enough of, and she stares at the locks of his hair that she'd run her hands through, now messy and mussed.

"I love you," he murmurs quietly, softly, without opening his eyes.

And she can't stop herself from grinning.

She's finally realised what perfection means to her.

So Cinder lets herself smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, kiss complete! Was it any good? Leave a kudos or comment?


	15. Bittersweet Circumstances

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: child abuse.

Cinder curses.

She fumbles with the latch on the window, briefly wondering when it was put there, before finally just giving up and knocking on the glass.

Kai smiles at her as he shakes his head and quickly unlocks the window, his hair messy and unkempt for some reason.

She gasps when she sees Kai's face properly, his mouth pursed and his smile strained, his eyes dull and tense compared to his usual glow.

He has an alarming set of angry purple bruises littered on his arms and his split lip still looks painful. Not to mention the exhaustion evident on his face and the way he looks ready to fall asleep at any moment.

But what's worse is the hurt in his bright copper eyes. Somehow, he manages to keep bringing back his smile.

"Hey Cinder," he whispers softly.

"Kai... What happened?" She asks, settling on his window ledge like she usually does.

He opens his mouth to reply but, before he can say anything, his eyes widen and he pulls her off the windowsill, pushing her inside his wardrobe with a small smile of compunction.

She doesn't say anything, knowing that he must have a reason.

"Kaito, you better have finished my report." A deep voice booms.

Kai flinches but stands tall as the door opens. "Yes sir."

"Good. Did I hear someone talking?"

Cinder internally curses herself for being loud.

"No sir, I was talking to myself," Kai lies.

The sound of a fist hitting flesh echoes in the room and Kai gasps, stumbling backwards. His back hits the wardrobe and firmly shuts the door so Cinder can't see anything anymore.

"You are not allowed to do that."

Kai cries out quietly a few times before the man leaves and slams the door shut, locking it behind him.

She's frozen with disbelief for a few moments, not knowing that to do until she hears her boyfriend stifle a groan.

At which point she shakes her head and pushes aside he'd anger, wanting nothing more than to help Kai and make sure he's alright.

Cinder quickly shoves the door open and tumbles out of the wardrobe to see Kai sitting propped up against the bed, clutching his stomach.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," he murmurs.

"I'm so sorry." Cinder pulls him into a careful hug.

She doesn't want to hurt him but he looks so small that she can't resist trying to hug his smile back into him.

"No, Cinder, it's not your fault," he manages to say.

She gasps as he reaches up to brush away the tears rolling down her face.

She hardly ever cries.

It's close to never, as if she simply can't.

It's something her recently - rediscovered sisters haven't stopped teasing her about, joking that her brain just doesn't work properly or that she isn't human.

But for Kai...

He gently shakes his head, brushing the tears away, and she smile, still crying but laughing at the same time.

He sucks in a breath as he shifts, slamming his eyes shut for a second before meeting Cinder's gaze.

"He's horrible," Cinder whispers.

Kai shrugs, "Today's a good day."

Cinder's eyes widen. "What?"

Kai gives her a warm smile. "It's not that bad today."

"Kai..."

"It's okay, I'm okay."

"No, you're not."

"I am."

"Kai..."

"Cinder."

"Kai!"

"He just has a strange way of expressing his emotions." Kai looks uncertain himself so it's not a shock that Cinder glares at nothing in particular as she silently fumes.

"I'm here if you need me," she murmurs after a while, running a hand through Kai's hair.

"Of course not, I live a 'perfect' life, remember?"

Cinder cringes. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed that..."

His grimace softens and he leans into her touch, sighing; she kisses his head.

"It's alright, you couldn't possibly have known. How about starting that book we found the other day?" Kai grins, running his tongue over the cut on his lip.

"Sure."

Cinder gets up only to grab said book off his table before sitting back down beside him, the two of them settling into a comfortable rhythm as Kai teaches her all about the stars.

After he explains the zodiac constellations to her, she frowns, pausing.

"Your window?"

"Yeah..." Kai pulls a face. "He's strict."

"You refer to him strangely," Cinder comments, wondering why Kai doesn't calm him 'dad' or 'father'.

"Would you do any differently?" Kai asks, shrugging.

"He does this a lot?" Cinder asks, not sure if he'll reply.

"Daily, for the most part," Kai replies.

She could swear her heart breaks.

She can't believe that anyone would willingly hurt Kai, even if she has seen the bullies around school. But even that's different to an actual family member...

Cinder stops and puts a hand on Kai's cheek. He frowns slightly but she tilts her head and leans forward so that she can softly kiss him, her lips brushing the cut and a sparkle of warmth shooting across her skin.

It's nothing like before, this gesture small and quick, meant to reassure rather than establish.

It's lazy and gentle, Cinder running her hands through his hair as she takes charge of the moment.

Eventually, they separate, both breathing heavily and leaning on each other for comfort rather than support.

Kai's face had lit up and he hasn't stopped smiling yet, so she grins, poking his dimples, relieved that he's at least somewhat bubbly again.

"I love you," she admits, her voice softer than she thought could be possible.

Kai's eyes widen, his beautiful copper eyes full of love and joy. Cinder wishes she hadn't been reluctant to admit it before, cursing herself for missing the look of pure happiness on his face.

Kai opens his mouth to reply but she shakes her head, putting her index finger over his lips, "No, I have a lot of catching up to do."

And that's what she does, murmuring the three words over and over again for the next who knows how long.

Eventually, she stars to nod off, Kai having fallen asleep with his head on her shoulder.

She smiles down at him, gently pushing his hair back and running her finger over the bags under his eyes, the bruises he usually hides and the cut on his lip.

She knows she can't stay - it would be a nightmare if they were found together - but she can't help wishing that she could.

Maybe someday.

Hopefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a little late, my WiFi died, got replaced and died again - I'm literally on borrowed Internet, and by that I mean I [technically hacked?] correctly guessed the password for a random WiFi near me and I'm going with that one even though I kind of feel bad ;p Leave a kudos or comment?


	16. It's All Worth It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Child Neglect.

Cinder narrows her eyes.

"What are you doing here?" she asks, trying to keep her voice neutral.

The girl flicks her hair over one shoulder and smirks. "I'm doing well, thanks for asking. What's your name again?"

Cinder rolls her eyes at the sarcasm, thankful that Kai appears just then.

"Cinder, hey!" he grins, planting the quickest kiss on her cheek.

She blushes, biting the inside of her cheek to keep her smile in check, especially when she sees the girl scowl and has the urge to grin.

Kai blinks. "Oh, hello Simone."

Cinder inwardly laughs at the thought of Kai not even noticing Simone in favour of kissing her, and wraps an arm around his middle, almost possessively.

Simone just puts a hand on her hip and clears her throat. "So, when does tutoring begin?"

Cinder looks just as shocked as Kai, who shakes his head. "I'm not the one tutoring you, I'm sorry."

Simone clicks her tongue in annoyance but nods, muttering so that only Cinder hears her: "Like I couldn't find that out myself."

"You'll have to ask your tutor for when they're free," Kai says.

"What if I don't want to?"

"Then you can fail your exams," Cinder hisses, grabbing Kai's wrist and pulling him with her.

She hears Simone darkly mutter something but ignores it, hoping Kai will do the same, which he does.

Kai shakes his head as he falls into step beside Cinder. "Why don't you like her?"

"There's nothing to like."

"Cinder..."

"Why do you like her?"

"There's nothing to dislike," Kai mimics.

"I have a bad feeling about her."

Kai just shrugs in response and laces their hands together, gently swinging their arms back and forth.

She laughs, but then remembers the list she'd been given by Adri, and her expression turns sour.

"What happened?" Kai asks, worried.

"Adri's list. Stars, I really hate her."

"What's on your list?"

"Weekly shopping," Cinder mutters glumly.

"Is that all? That's easy, come on." Kai tightens his grip on her hand and pulls her along.

"Where are we going?" Cinder laughs.

"To defeat your list!" Kai laughs back.

She grins, the two of them running all the way to the supermarket.

"I win!" she laughs breathlessly as Kai gracefully skids to a stop next to her, running a hand through his hair and nodding.

And for once, she doesn't care that she's living with people who send her to do all their work. She doesn't care because she can spend that time with Kai, either complaining or attempting to have fun, or both.

They finish late into the evening, still in their school uniforms and laughing like idiots as they walk back to Cinder's place.

"Thanks, Kai," Cinder whispers, pulling him closer so she can kiss him.

He pulls back first, only enough to whisper: "We have an audience."

Cinder shivers as his lips move against hers but sighs, "Peony, probably."

"Want me to stop?" He murmurs.

Cinder connects their lips again, making Kai stumble, before pulling back and smirking. "I guess I'm welcome?"

Kai chuckles, "That you most certainly always will be."

"Why can't you just say 'yes', honestly...?" Cinder giggles, taking the bags from him.

He salutes. "Until next time, my empress."

Cinder could swear her cheeks blaze red but she bites her lip, still laughing as she unpacks all the bags inside.

"Cinder!" Pearl yells. "Did you get my primer and the neutral palette I asked for?"

"Your what now?" Cinder asks, lost.

"Mum!" Pearl yells angrily, scowling.

"What's a primer?" Cinder asks again, as Adri walks in with an exasperated look on her face.

"She didn't get my stuff!" Pearl whines.

Adri sighs, "You know what that means: no dinner tonight."

"What? But-!"

"Go to your room," Adri snaps.

"Not that I have one," Cinder mutters under her breath as she trudges upstairs to the attic, flopping down on her bed.

She hears the other three talking and the smell of spagetti makes her stomach turn but she just groans, trying to sleep.

"Ow!" someone softly exclaims behind her and she almost has a heart attack.

"Stars! What are you doing?" she yells at the voice, only to find that it's her boyfriend.

"Oh, aces, I'm sorry," she mutters as Kai flinches.

"I had a hunch that you might like to try tacos," Kai whispers, dismissing her guilt with a bright smile.

"What's that?"

"I think you mean 'what are they?' but it doesn't really matter anyway because I have one for both of us," Kai winks.

"Nerd," Cinder jokes, kissing him.

She pulls back after a minute, breathless. "How do people not run out of air?" she wheezes.

"That doesn't matter. Just try the tacos." Kai hands her one, causing her stomach to rumble.

Kai gives her half of his, apparently deciding her hunger is more important than his, and makes sure she eats it.

"You're the best," Cinder says once they're both done.

"If you say so," Kai smirks.

There's a knock on the door before she can reply; Cinder curses.

"I'm going to hide now," Kai tells her, sliding under the bed.

Cinder giggles but makes sure he's hidden, along with the taco wrappers, before opening the door.

"Pearl."

"Just letting you know the dishwasher broke down so you've got a load of dishes to wash. Oh, and, I expect my cosmetics to arrive by tomorrow evening."

"Fine," Cinder replies, rolling her eyes.

"Were you talking to yourself?" Pearl asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course, I needed advice from someone who's actually got a brain." Cinder smirks.

Pearl scoffs but slams the door as she leaves, causing one of the papers on the wall to flutter and land on the ground.

"What, I'm not intelligent enough for you?" Kai asks from under her bed.

"Nope," Cinder replies.

"Ah, what a shame." Kai says, then yelps softly, "What is your bed made of?"

"Don't tell me you banged your head?" Cinder asks incredulously.

"I didn't, the bed attacked me."

Cinder stifles her laugh, putting the paper back up and watching Kai wriggle out from under the bed, rubbing his head.

"Your sisters are so much trouble."

"They're not my sisters," Cinder says stiffly.

Kai bites his lip, his eyes softening with sympathy, and entwines their fingers. "I'm sorry."

It sounds weird because he's still biting one side of his lip but Cinder just smiles - something she's now doing pretty much all the time - and leans on his shoulder.

"It's okay, I know what you meant."

Kai exhales, accidentally whistles, then claps a hand over his mouth, his eyes wide.

"It's okay, they'll just think it's me," Cinder laughs, trying to make sure she never forgets the look on his face.

"Right." Kai nods, glancing at his watch. "What time do you usually sleep?"

"No idea, maybe like... one?"

"What do you do until then?" Kai asks, bemused.

"I don't actually know," Cinder admits. "I mostly just wait until I can see the moon."

Kai kisses her forehead. "So do I, when I can."

"When you can?" Cinder echoes.

Kai shifts. "I'm sometimes in the basement and there's no windows there..."

Cinder sits up and faces him. "I didn't know you had a basement."

"I suppose that's rather the point actually." Kai's voice is quiet, almost a whisper. "Now I can look for the moon and think of you."

She can't help wanting to murder whoever locks him in a basement but suppresses that, not wanting to dwell on it and ruin the mood.

"You're so cheesy," Cinder giggles.

"No, I'm not, I'm lactose intolerant," Kai replies with a wink.

It takes her a second to get it, at which point she has to put both hands over her mouth to stop her laughter.

For once, she couldn't care less about seeing the moon, content with his smile as he waves and climbs out of the window.

She watches him surreptitiously run and smiles, even as she hears Adri shouting about something downstairs.

Maybe it's all worth it.

As Kai's figure disappears, she decides its definitely worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot is subjective to the potential threat of writer's block... Leave a kudos or comment?


	17. Not Really A Battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Bullying, some violence.

Cinder drops the bag she'd just been handed, rage running through her veins.

She can see the silhouettes of Kai and Cress inside the media classroom – she can see the silhouettes being shoved against the wall. They both fade immediately but she knows that's not necessarily a good thing.

Out of their group, Cress is the only one who can't physically fight very well and Kai is the one who's too peaceful to hurt others. But their group doesn't mind it, simply becoming way too protective, and that's saying something, considering that they're known to protect each other to every limit and beyond.

She swears under her breath, making the boy in front of her gasp.

"What, you've never heard a girl swear before?" she asks sarcastically, not waiting for his response.

Of course the door is locked, of course it is.

It takes her a full five minutes to pick it, breaking two of Winter's bobby pins in the process.

Once she's inside, the sight of Kai curled into a ball shatters her heart, each shard travelling through her until she can't take it anymore.

There are two boys and a girl who are clearly unconscious, slumped against the wall. Cinder whistles, knowing that Kai must have done it, then swears because that means Cress was in danger.

Kai doesn't fight... Unless he's being protective. And it was definitely an unfair fight because there's four of them left.

Without missing a beat, she strides forward, curls her fists like Wolf told her to and punches the boy closest to her. Her hand throbs painfully but the boy's explosive cursing and the look of pain on his face is worth it.

"Cinder, don't-" Kai's protest is cut off as another boy kicks him, hard.

Kai gasps and Cinder makes a show of clicking her neck. She waits until each boy's focus is solely on her before clicking her knuckles.

"Step away from him," she orders.

"Why? Trying to suck up to him and avoid detention?" one of them jeers, clearly new and ignorant.

Cinder just smiles. "Not quite."

She lunges forwards, punching the boy so hard that his nose cracks and he stumbles backwards, cradling his bleeding nose with a yell.

"He's my boyfriend. Touch him and you'll regret it."

"He knocked ours out," one argues.

"To get back for Cress, I'm sure." Cinder glares.

She can see the proud, loving smile on Kai's face but resists the urge to smile back, instead focusing on the boys in front of her: One of them has the audacity to scoff so she sighs and kicks him in the solar plexus, smirking as he falls to the floor.

She lets Kai pull himself up using her as a ballast and they exchange a look to ask if the other is alright.

"Come on, give up already. He deserves it."

Cinder pauses for a moment, knowing what Kai's reaction will be if she seriously injures another student.

The boy mistakes her self-restraint for weakness and moves to deal a blow but she steps back, evading the punch and kicking him in the abdomen. Kai punches him to finish off and the boy groans, wraps his arms around himself, then curses.

"Anyone else want to try? I'm just warming up." She glowers at them.

They do, stupidly.

She and Kai both punch someone at the same time, both of them laughing as they grin at each other.

"Touch-the-freaking-é," one of them mutters, backing up.

Soon enough, the whole group has stumbled out, all of them muttering about a ruined opportunity. Clearly not known for loyalty, they leave the three unconscious students slumped against the wall.

Cinder watches them leave before steadying Kai, who's currently leaning against the wall.

"I'm okay," he breathes, wincing.

"You're leaning against the wall," Cinder points out.

"Hey, being upright is the first step to walking," Kai argues. "Cress..."

"Where?"

"Dark room..." he points to the small, locked door.

"I hate to do this but needs must," Cinder mutters, knowing that it would take her forever to pick that lock.

She sighs as she calls Thorne. He picks up immediately, laughing, "What is that that you need my excellent skills for?"

"Cress. Pick the lock?"

"Dark room again?" Thorne sighs before hanging up, and Cinder knows he's on his way.

Cinder brushes Kai's hair back, gently rubbing the bruise on his forehead. "Are you okay?"

Kai nods, "Really, I'm fine."

"Does this… Does this happen often?"

"As far as the school hierarchy goes, I have a fairly powerful position."

Cinder frowns, "So?"

"So I've given their friend a detention and this is just their revenge."

"What? I don't agree." Cinder says bluntly, both loving and hating his quixotically optimistic outlook on life. "What about locking Cress in the dark room then?"

"Cress was simply accompanying me, unfortunately. A case of bad timing..." Kai looks guilty so Cinder kisses him, properly.

They're both giggling as they pull apart and Cinder whispers, "It wasn't your fault."

Kai kissed her forehead, "It's worth it if I get to see you in battle."

She blushes, smiling despite her anger. "It's hardly a battle."

"Of course it is, you punched him... and more!"

"You knocked some of them out!"

He just grins. "You're still more of a natural warrior."

Cinder chuckles, "I wouldn't have to be if you'd stop being such a damsel."

"Who's a damsel?" Thorne asks, dramatically sashaying into the room.

"Shut up and go rescue your girlfriend," Kai mutters softly, and Cinder has to applaud his uncanny ability of knowing how to get everyone's attention.

Thorne looks speechless before aiming finger guns at Kai and pulling something out of his pocket. Probably whatever he uses to pick locks.

Kai and Cinder watch as Thorne quickly, with a touch of swearing, unlocks it and Cress practically falls against him, gasping.

Thorne freezes but quickly pulls her into a hug, one hand around the small of her back and the other around the back of her head.

Cinder smiles a them, sharing a look with Kai, who winks. She shakes her head. "I still can't believe you think I'm a warrior."

"I don't."

"You just said..." Cinder frowns.

"I didn't mean it," Kai tells her but he's smiling so she just grins back.

"What did you mean?"

Kai leans closer so he can whisper, "You're not a warrior but you're my empress and I wouldn't have it any other way."

Cinder gapes at him, almost overbalancing. "Stars, Kai, you can't just say things like that!"

Kai shrugs and entwines his fingers with hers, his thumb rubbing circles on the back of her hand, "I love you."

And, now unafraid to call it love, Cinder leans up to kiss his nose, "And I love you."

They don't even care that Thorne and Cress can see them.

They're too caught up in each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has 2000 views on FFN so I'm just *screams* Leave a kudos or comment?


	18. Imperfect Attendance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Implied Bullying

Cinder frowns when the teacher walks in but Kai doesn't.

And it's not just her that has that reaction, it's the whole class.

Even the teacher herself looks shocked as Kai's seat remains empty, and awkwardly clears her throat, "Anybody seen Kai?"

A couple of students at the back chuckle to themselves and Cinder immediately knows that something's wrong.

Kai's never missed a single class, no matter what.

What's worse is that they're the same students who'd locked Cress in the dark room and unfairly ganged up on Kai before the weekend. Clearly they hadn't forgotten about it with time.

"I'll mark him in for now…" the teacher continues, bewildered.

Cinder knows where she'd headed even before her feet are moving towards the door. She coughs to let the teacher know she's leaving, "I'm going to find Kai."

The teacher nods before taking the register and Cinder's suddenly thankful of Kai's reputation; she'd never get away with something like that if it wasn't for his perfect stature. But that doesn't stop the dread settling in her stomach like cement, making her sick.

She checks the bathrooms first, not stopping to think about the 'male' sign on the door. Coming up empty, she looks in all the empty classrooms, groaning as she doesn't find Kai. She'd hoped he'd be in this part of the school; there's five other sections she hasn't looked in and she doesn't know where to start.

Deciding that this counts as an emergency, she calls Thorne. Like the rebel he is, he picks up immediately, "What do you need?"

"Kai didn't come to class," she blurts.

Thorne whistles, "Where in school are you?"

"The English site."

"Kai missed English?" Throne sounds even more shocked than she feels.

"Aces, this calls for an emergency meeting," Thorne mutters. "What's the closest room to you?"

"Uh, literature room two," she tells him.

"Cinder. Stay. There." Thorne hangs up before she can complain.

No more than three and a half seconds later, her phone buzzes with an emergency alert.

They'd made a separate one for each of them so they'd know who was in trouble and how serious it was. She'd scoffed at Kai when he and Cress had suggested it but now she couldn't be more thankful, it may just save Kai from serious harm.

"Cinder, hey!" Scarlet is the first to appear, giving her a quick but strong bear hug.

Winter and Cress arrive together, both of them coming from textiles. Thorne and Jacin join them a few minutes later, explaining that they'd checked in their sections' bathrooms. Wolf arrives a minute later, slightly breathless, having checked the bathrooms in the other sections. Cinder smiles at them, loving that they can come together.

"Where do we think he is?" Cress asks.

"I don't know. But it was the older students from before the weekend," Cinder admits.

Wolf winces on behalf of everyone, "Kai doesn't stand a chance against a group of them, especially not the second time round, when they'll have back-up."

"Aces, Wolf barely stands a chance, never mind any of us," Thorne adds, all of them knowing he's not being unkind, but truthful – they're all thinking the same.

"Split up?" Wolf suggests.

"I'm going on my own." Cinder holds up a hand as the others start to protest, "Call me if you find him."

"And avoid getting detention before we find him, there's plenty of time to get caught later," Jacin instructs, he and Winter turning left.

Scarlet grabs Wolf's hand and the two of them go through the double doors to the other site. Cinder walks with Thorne and Cress until they reach the road where they split, going to a different site. Cinder practically runs through the corridors, groaning as she finds nothing in every room.

A couple of students catch her eye as she peers into their room but none of them say anything. If there's one thing the students are united on, it's helping each other avoid detention.

She ignores her phone at first, then swears, realising someone might have found Kai.

They have.

It's Wolf and Scarlet who've found him.

A part of her is relieved as, between the two of them, they're more than equipped for everything. Scarlet knows first aid and Wolf acts as personal army to all of them. Without wasting a second, she runs to the photography department, nearly crashing into Jacin as he slides to a halt beside her.

Cinder sucks in a breath as her heart skips a beat.

Kai's lying on the floor, his head propped up against Wolf as Scarlet presses her fingers to his wrist. Cinder could swear her vision turns grey but Winter's there, holding her steady. The brunette wraps an arm around her shoulders and keeps her upright.

"Cinder, he's alive, it's okay," Cress is saying as she manages to focus again.

"What… Who would… Why would they…" she fizzles out as Wolf picks Kai up.

In any other instance, it would have been funny.

But Wolf, being six foot tall, putting one arm around Kai's shoulders and another under his knees so he can pick him up bridal style is serious.

Because Kai hasn't reacted at all. Because his pallor skin is ashen, almost ghost-like. Because his lips are blue and his nails are purple. Because there's a bleeding gash on his forehead that wasn't there a few hours ago. Because they don't even know what other injuries he might have. Because they all know Kai is way too much of a pacifist for his own good.

Wolf sprints ahead of them all, running to the parking lot instead of the school nurse. Wolf starts the engine as Scarlet rides shotgun, Cinder and Cress sliding into the back and carefully laying Kai across their laps. Thorne, Winter and Jacin follow behind as Cress tells Wolf how to get to her Dad's hospital.

Wolf's the one to carry the limp Kai inside, Cress calling for her Dad and Cinder worrying so much she feels like she'll drown inside her own heart. Dr Erland gasps as he sees Kai, immediately calling over a couple of nurses. As Kai's getting moved to another room, Winter pushes her into a seat and she lets her head drop into her hands.

Why does she have to love Kai so much?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, someone on FFN asked if I could do a monthly fic for wolflet / jacinter / cresswell ... would you guys perhaps like to see any of those, or maybe a continuation of this kaider one? Leave a kudos or comment?


	19. Wild Recovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: mild violence

Cinder jolts awake.

"Ugh, what... What time is it?" she mumbles groggily.

"Just past half nine in the morning," Dr Erland replies quickly.

"Oh." is all Cinder can say to that.

"Do you want some water, Cinder?" Dr Erland asks, handing her a glass.

After downing it in one go, she blinks herself into full consciousness and makes an effort to smile.

"Is Kai okay?" she asks urgently.

Dr Erland nods. "He'll be okay."

"What... What happened?"

"He... Well, it's not my place to say," Dr Erland tells her, smiling sadly.

Cinder nods in understanding, pulling herself upright and clicking her neck. "Is he awake?"

"Yes." Dr Erland smiles widely. "Of course, I'm sure you'll want to see him?"

"Uh..."

Cinder follows Dr Erland into the back room, gasping and running forwards as she sees Kai.

He's slightly less pale than before, lying propped up with pillows on either side of him. He has an IV drip inserted into the back of his left hand and a bandage around his head but all Cinder can see is the bright smile on his face.

"Hello, Empress."

Cinder gasps, throwing her arms around him. "Kai, you idiot!"

"Lungs!"

To anyone else, this might sound like a totally random exclamation but Cinder jerks backwards. "Oh, sorry."

Cinder finds herself staring at the warm copper of his eyes, loving that she can see them again, full of energy.

"You appear to be gazing," Kai observes.

Cinder giggles, "Do I?"

"Just a little bit," Kai whispers, blinking slowly. "I think I'm a bit..."

"Loopy?" Cinder asks, grinning at his partially dazed expression.

Dr Erland coughs behind them, "He is on rather heavy medication."

Cinder shakes her head fondly. "Of course he is."

"It should ware off completely within the next few minutes," Dr Erland assures her.

Kai's eyelids droop but he struggles to keep them open each time anyway; Cinder smiles softly.

She pushes herself onto the bed and settles beside him so that he can rest his head on her shoulder and she can wrap her arms around his shoulders.

Kai smiles softly as Cinder plays with his hair, careful not to touch the bandage. She notices him dozing off, his breathing steadying until he's fast asleep.

"Cress wasn't lying when she told me the two of you are hopelessly in love," Dr Erland notes.

Cinder just nods, shifting her weight a little so she can pull Kai closer.

"Why was he unconscious?" Cinder asks quietly.

"Stab wound, across his torso and arm."

Cinder swears, groaning, "Where did they get a knife?"

"You know who did this?" he asks, sounding surprised.

"Yeah, and we're going to get revenge," Cinder promises.

"Just... be careful."

"We don't need to be, we've got each other's backs."

Dr Erland nods. "He doesn't need a nurse to be present but do alert me if he's in pain."

Cinder nods, watching as he leaves.

It's just over five minutes later when Kai awakes, smiling up at Cinder. "Oh, what a beautiful view."

"Shut up!" Cinder laughs. "How are you doing?"

"Personal pocket knife," Kai replies, knowing what her next question would be.

"Which one?"

"Not sure, there was too many," Kai sighs and Cinder has to put all her effort into not punching something.

Before either of them can comment on each other's behaviour, Thorne walks in - well, saunters in.

"There's a Simone here to see you guys?" he sounds uncertain.

"What is she doing here?" Cinder hisses, unknowingly pulling Kai closer.

Kai himself looks pretty confused, even more so when Simone sashays into the room with a smirk on her face.

She's wearing the same type of tight-fitting dress but this time, the material is silver, as is the small tiara balanced on her head and the delicate bracelet around her right wrist.

"Hello, Kai," she drawls.

"Why are you here?" Cinder can't help the venom in her voice.

Simone blinks innocently. "Is a girl not allowed to visit her injured fiancé in hospital?"

"What the aces?" Thorne exclaims.

Kai's jaw drops open and Cinder just stares.

"What did you just say?" Cress squeaks.

Simone sighs dramatically, tucking her hair over her ear and rolling her eyes. "I said: is a girl not allowed t-"

"We heard you, we just don't understand what you're trying to imply," Wolf growls fiercely, having appeared along with Scarlet, Winter and Jacin.

"Do you people not know the definition of 'fiancé' or something?" Simone asks, raising an eyebrow.

"A man to whom a woman is engaged to be married," Kai whispers, his face drained of colour once again.

"But-" Scarlet starts.

"You heard him. Now, step away from my future husband." Simone waves a hand.

"Is this a prank?" Jacin almost yells. "Or are you out of your mind?"

"None of the above, apparently," Simone mutters.

"I'm not engaged to anyone," Kai declares quietly.

"Look, we're adolescents," Simone says, looking annoyed. "We can't legally get married unless our parents consent. And they do."

"What?" Kai asks, finding Cinder's hand.

Cinder gasps to herself as she feels his hands shaking, badly. She curls her hands around his to try and stop the shakiness, wanting Kai to smile again.

"Oh yeah, I have Rikan's permission." Simone smirks again, her eyes gleaming.

Kai's eyes flash. "I highly doubt you managed to acquire that."

"I thought you'd say that, so I brought him with me." Simone's smile is pure darkness.

Kai lets out a small sound that only Cinder catches, along with the nervous expression on his face.

"Hey, it'll be okay, I promise," Cinder murmurs softly, hating the doubt in Kai's eyes.

Wolf yells as someone shoves past him and Scarlet, stopping on the other side of Kai with a devilish smile. "Hello, son."

Kai flinches.

Cinder knows there's no way any of them missed that.

"How dreadful it is that you're scarred just before your wedding," Rikan drawls sickeningly.

"He is not getting married, you evil little-" Cinder stops herself before she says something that could be used against her.

"Get away from our friend." Thorne's the one to say it but they're all clearly thinking it.

Rikan harshly yanks the IV line and Kai gasps, pulling his hand black and trying to stop the thin trickle of blood running down his hand.

Cinder falls backwards, off the bed, as Rikan pulls Kai off the other side, making him stumble. Winter and Scarlet pick her up as Rikan tightly grips Kai's wrist, dragging him along.

"Hey!" Jacin yells but Simone's faster, kicking him in the solar plexus and punching his nose, immediately drawing blood.

"Jacin!" Winter cries, kneeling beside him as he gasps, trying to breathe.

Wolf growls, but runs after Kai instead of challenging Simone.

Cinder leaves Scarlet, Thorne and Cress to deal with Simone, following Wolf.

Both Wolf and Cinder make it outside too late, watching Rikan roughly shove Kai into a car before getting into it himself, already driving as Wolf sprints.

"Argh!" Cinder yells, kicking the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More not-quite-canon drama... Leave a kudos or comment?


	20. Good Old Windows

Cinder gasps as she tries to sit up, her stomach cramping and her head pounding.

She manages to reach out and whack the alarm clock so she doesn't wake anybody but, other than that, she can't move.

"Cinder?" Peony calls as she pokes her head in the room an hour or so later, "Cinder?"

Cinder grunts in response, clenching her fists as she fights back a sob. It feels like a thousand wasps are latched onto her muscles, each one stinging her every time she moves.

"Oh no, are you okay?" Peony asks sympathetically.

"Do I look okay?" she grinds out, squinting at the light Peony's letting in.

An illness is the last thing she needs on top of her overwhelming worry for Kai.

She hasn't heard from him in over a week.

Luckily, her school is on its term break so nobody is pestering her about him, but that also means she has more time to worry about what Simon and Rikan had said.

"Sorry," Peony whispers. "I'll cover for you. Get well soon."

Cinder gives her a small smile as she leaves, appreciating the younger of the two sisters.

She can hear her phone buzzing but she throws an arm over her eyes and ignores it, trying to sleep, trying to claim black the sleepless nights full of worrying.

Small smiles creep onto her face as she realises it must her friends asking if she's okay but she still doesn't have the strength to move.

She's fallen asleep again when she hears a knocking at the door.

Groggily, she tries to sit up, fails and wraps a pillow around her head so that she can't hear anything else.

The knocking stops after a while and Cinder could swear it sounded familiar but she can't place it, the hunger and pain in her stomach taking over everything else.

She hears another thud, this one alarmingly close, before her window slides open and someone topples into her room.

Her first reaction is to try and kill them so, not really thinking, she chucks her pillow at the intruder.

Kai yelps as it hits him, sending him sprawling backwards again.

Cinder's eyes widen, "Kai?"

She gapes.

The seven of them had planned to sneak into Kai's house to try and find him if he didn't show up but she'd never imagined that he'd literally fall back into her life through her window.

He looks paler, his skin is covered in bruises and his clothes are loosely hanging off his seemingly shrunken frame.

But he's still smiling.

And wincing: "Uh huh, just... Give me a minute?"

So she waits.

Exactly a minute later, Kai jumps up and places his bag on the floor. He pulls out a water bottle and hands it to her.

"Drink," he orders softly.

Nodding, she does so, sighing as the cool liquid soothes her burning throat.

"Pains or nausea?" Kai inquires.

"Pains." Cinder frowns but Kai doesn't let her ask anything.

Kai winces as he stands up but nudges her so she loves along. "I, um, saw everyone being worried about you on the email chat..."

He settles next to her on the bed and pushes her hair away from her sweaty forehead. She groans, annoyed that he's seeing her like this, and lets him wipe the sweat off to cool her down.

She jumps as he presses something to her lips but sighs with relief as she realises that it's a spoon full of soup, the best soup she's ever tasted.

"Sorry, is it hot?" Kai inquires guiltily.

"No, that'd be you," Cinder mumbles.

Kai stays silent, apparently bewildered enough to stop his usual flow of rambles.

She takes the painkillers he silently hands her, swallowing them dry, despite Kai's attempt at protesting.

He feeds her rest of the soup slowly, making sure its not too hot and laughing at whatever she sleepily mumbles.

She falls asleep again once he's given her all of it, curled up against him.

When she wakes again, he's sitting cross-legged on the floor near the window, fiddling with the fabric of his shirt.

"Kai?" Cinder mumbles.

His head snaps up but, before he can move, Cinder's thrown herself out of bed and wrapped her arms around him.

"Kai, you stupid... stupid... I didn't even know if you were still alive!" Cinder breathes, almost crying.

The two of them manage to stand up, still locked in an embrace. Kai immediately starts trying to apologise.

"I'm sorry, I really am. I tried to get in touch but they wouldn't let me."

Cinder pulls back enough to kiss him, relishing in the gesture she'd missed.

It's fast and messy, both of them wincing slightly as either Cinder touches the cut on Kai's lip or Kai brushes where Cinder's worn away her lip from biting it in worry.

But it's explosive and they're both breathless when they finally pull away.

"Kai, are you okay?" Cinder asks, then adds: "Honestly?"

"I've been better, so to speak," Kai replies.

Cinder moves her gaze over the bruises and sighs, "What... Kai?"

He bites his lip, shrugging.

"Hey, emperor, be honest with me," Cinder whispers.

When Kai looks back at her, both of them have tears in their eyes.

"I don't want to get married, Cinder, I love you."

"Stars, Kai, I love you too," Cinder sobs, wrapping her arms around him again before groaning as her stomach cramps.

Kai laughs, "That's why I brought the soup."

She smiles gratefully.

"Kai, where in the house is your room?" Cinder asks. "We'll come and get you out."

Kai mumbles something.

Cinder makes a face. "What is it?"

"Remember how I told you the house has a basement?" Kai asks, averting his gaze.

Cinder frowns, stares, and curses.

"You're not serious?"

"I get to have one meal a day with Torin," Kai says optimistically.

"Oh, Kai..." Cinder lets herself cry and hugs Kai again.

She wishes that she knew what was going on, she wishes that Kai didn't have a basement, she wishes that her stomach hadn't gone funny today of all days and she wishes that she could hide her boyfriend from the people trying to get him married.

But wishes aren't always quick to be granted. And, more often than not, their results require effort and patience.

She stays curled up beside him instead.

"We'll... I don't know, but we're not letting you get married, okay? We, uh, we have our school projects to finish and we had that plan to... To do that thing together... And you're not even an adult..." Cinder rambles, blinking furiously.

Kai laughs, sobbing with her.

The two of them don't know if they're distraught or hysterical, and they don't care - they only care that they're together.

Both of them vow to stay that way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dramatic, right? Not that anyone reads this... eh. Leave a kudos or comment?


	21. So Much For Pasta

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *coughs* pilots *coughs* |-/

Cinder yells in frustration.

She slides down so she's sitting in the middle of the room, cross-legged.

"Cinder, it's okay..." Winter whispers, kneeling beside her.

"No. No, it's not. It's not okay."

"He'll be okay," Winter soothes.

Cinder looks up, shaking her head. "You didn't see him. We have to get him back."

"This is insane, we're students!" Scarlet exclaims. "We shouldn't have to do this."

"So you're not going to help?" Cinder asks incredulously.

Scarlet scoffs, "What do you take me for? Of course I'm helping! But we're not doing this without a plan."

"Hey, Cinder, you said he had a droid, right?" Cress asks.

Cinder's eyes widen. "Oh my stars, Cress, you're a genius."

Cidner jumps up, rooting around for Winter's notebook.

Scarlet, Cress and Winter just stare at her until she finds it and flicks through the worn pages.

"Got it. Kai and I made Nainsi an accessible email account... Cress, can you send a message to this?"

"Oh, come on, is the sky blue?"

Winter looks out of the window. "No?"

Cress elbows her. "You know what I mean."

"How can we be sure that Nainsi is with Kai though?" Scarlet asks.

Cinder curses under her breath but then shakes her head. "She will be, she's usually kept hidden in the basement anyway..."

"We should wait until the boys get back anyway," Winter says.

"We are back," Jacin announces, laughing.

Wolf kisses Scarlet before turning to face everyone else. "We can't get into the basement from the outside."

"Tell me there's more to this?" Cinder asks hopefully.

Thorne nods. "Of course, my fellow detention buddy. We can get in through the storage room at the back, it's totally empty."

"Then we just have to find the basement. It seems like it's near that." Jacin puts one arm around Winter as he speaks. "It shouldn't be hard to avoid those two."

Cinder nods. "We're also going to try and email him."

"Are you sure? What if Rikan sees?" Jacin frowns.

"No way would Kai keep Nainsi out in the open anyway," Cinder replies.

The seven of them start to make a quick plan, deciding who's on lookout and who's going to go inside to find Kai.

In the end, it's decided that Cinder has to go in, as well as Thorne and Wolf. Cress will stay at Winter's house so she and Winter can communicate with all of them. Jacin and Scarlet are in charge of making sure Rikan and Simone are preoccupied elsewhere, or they'll create a diversion if needed.

"Hold on, we should probably take a break to eat," Winter suggests. "It's pasta night too!"

Cinder smiles, her stomach already rumbling at the thought. Nobody is against the idea of food so the seven of them head downstairs.

"Hey guys, want to grab your plates?" Evret asks, already familiar with the whole group.

"Sure, Dad. Where's Mum?" Winter asks as she pulls the plates out of the cupboard.

"She should be on her way, I guess there's just traffic," Evret replies, smiling.

Winter nods and grabs some glasses, handing a few to Cinder and Scarlet as well. Once the table's ready, Evret sighs, "I better call your Mum and ask her if she's going to make it in time to eat."

Cinder and Winter both smile as the doorbell rings, Evret shaking his head. "Maybe she's here already."

He gets up to open the door, leaving the seven of them at the table.

They hear him talking to someone who clearly isn't Solstice and, when Evret doesn't return after five minutes, get up to see what the problem is.

"Oh no," Cinder breathes as she sees the flashing red and blue lights outside.

"Mum got arrested?" Winter asks, frowning.

Scarlet's face softens. "Oh, honey… I don't think that's the case."

"Then what-?" Winter trails off as she pales, running forwards.

Evret turns to them, startled, and holds up a hand.

"I'm awfully sorry," The woman says again, her face full of pity.

"No…" Cinder shakes her head, hoping that they've all got the wrong idea and this is just a misunderstanding.

"Would you like me to accompany you now or would you like to make your own way to the hospital?"

Evret makes a choked sound before nodding. "How many can you permit?"

"Three," The woman replies.

He nods again. "Could you give us five minutes, please?"

The woman nods and Evret thanks her before shutting the door.

He turns to them with a solemn expression. "I'm sorry, you're going to have to head home."

"We understand," Wolf says kindly, turning.

Scarlet heads with him but Jacin kisses Winter and envelops her in a tight hug before leaving, murmuring a soft 'I love you' that makes her smile. Thorne ebows Cinder silently and she nods to him but Cress doesn't accept that, hugging her before Thorne pulls her away too.

The pasta lies, forgotten, on the table, never to be eaten.

"Dad?" Winter asks, her voice small.

"Oh, Winter, I'm sorry," Evret mumbles. "Cinder, come here."

He pulls them both into a hug, sniffling. "Are you girls ready to go?"

Winter wipes her eyes. "Will Mum be okay?"

"I don't know," Evret answers truthfully.

"What happened?" Cinder inquires.

"A car accident," Evret tells them. "The other driver was killed instantly and Solstice is in critical condition."

Winter clutches Cinder's hand. "Cinder…"

"I know, I know…" she murmurs back, guiding Winter to the policewoman's car.

The car journey is uneventful, Winter's quiet sobs filling the vehicle's silence. Cinder notes that Evret is silently crying too and her heart lurches.

She wishes she had Kai with her to help.

She can't bring herself to cry but there's a part of her that hopes it was all a mistake and Solstice is perfectly healthy, waiting for them with her warm smiles. There's a part of her that suspects otherwise but she shuts those thoughts out.

She has to physically pull Winter out of the car, letting her cousin cling onto her as they follow the policewoman. Evret glances at them every few seconds, as if to make sure they're not going to get injured as well.

"I hate to do this but I need to ask you a few questions first…" the receptionist says sadly.

Cinder blanks out the for rest of it, only registering white floors, Solstice's pale face, loud beeping, Winter's tearful face, a policewoman talking about paperwork and an unfamiliar car before she's back in her bed at Winter's place.

She shuts her eyes, hoping for any kind of escape from the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, an attempt at feels. Leave a kudos or comment?


	22. Squad Goals

Cinder wants to yell.

Or punch something.

Or both.

She doesn't really care at this point.

Kai had managed to sneak out for Solstice's funeral but he'd looked worse for wear, smiling brightly but constantly on the verge of collapsing.

Still, he'd been there to hold her as she'd trembled with grief. Solstice had been like a mother to her and she never would have gotten through the funeral if it hadn't been for Kai. He'd been there to keep her steady when Winter had made her speech, when Evret had made his, when they'd closed the coffin forever and when they'd covered the wooden box with soil.

Winter had stayed right beside Evret before going off with Jacin. The others hadn't been allowed to come because they weren't family – and their excuse of all being in a polyamorous relationship hadn't worked – so they'd had to wait at Winter's house, having decided to try and cheer her up with a movie marathon that had lasted way into the next day.

Kai had stayed as long as he could without being noticed, hugging Cinder sadly when he'd had to leave.

"I love you," he'd murmured as she'd aimlessly run her fingers over his cheekbones just because she could.

Cinder had never called herself murderous but, seeing Kai, she'd immediately made a mental hit list.

"I love you too," Cinder had whispered back.

And then he'd left, Cinder promising that she'd come to him.

And now she was here, watching Thorne pick the lock of Kai's back door.

"Aha!" he whisper-yells triumphantly, winking at them as he pushes the door open.

"Oh, shut up," Wolf grumbles, but he's smiling too.

Cinder shakes her head at them, sighing. "Cress?"

"Hold on, don't go in yet," she yells into their ears, all three of them wincing. "Kai says Simone's with him at the moment."

"Oh come on, Jay and Scar had one job!" Thorne rolls his eyes.

"Why did you nickname him 'Jay'?" Cinder asks, never having understood his reasoning.

"You know, like a jabberjay… those spy birds from those books that- wait, who read them again?" Thorne asks.

"Kai," Cinder laughs. "But Scar and Cress read them afterwards and Kai's told me all about them."

"So you know how apt of a nickname it is then," Thorne beams smugly.

"Yeah, he does have freakishly good memory," Cinder agrees.

"Is this that one where the protagonist is named after a plant?" Wolf asks.

Thorne and Cinder share a look before simply nodding.

"Okay, Scar's got Simone distracted. Go!" Winter whispers through their earpieces.

Wolf automatically straightens, standing tall and shutting the door behind them.

Cinder tries to think back, tries to remember the layout of Kai's house. Taking a guess, she leads them out of the storage room and past the kitchen, through the utility room and into the second dining room, looking for the shelf that hides the basement door.

"That one, can you move it?" she asks Wolf, pointing to the smallest bookshelf.

"Got it." he doesn't waste any time, rolling up his sleeves and pushing the shelf to one side like it's not filled with heavy books.

"Have you found him?" Cress asks hopefully.

"Maybe." Cinder fumbles with the doorknob before groaning and slamming into it with her shoulder.

The door flies open and Thorne whistles but she ignores him, squinting at the darkness.

"Cinder, stairs!" Wolf calls, pulling her back as she goes to step forwards and saving her from tumbling down the steps.

"Thanks, Wolf." She nods at him before carefully descending, Wolf following and Thorne staying at the top so the door doesn't close and lock them all inside.

"Kai?" Cinder whispers, looking round.

She sees Kai curled into the furthest corner, his arms wrapped around his knees and something silver glinting on his left ankle.

"Is that what I think it is?" Wolf growls as Cinder rushes forwards.

Kai flinches as she kneels in front of him but his eyes fly open in shock as she kisses his forehead.

"Cinder?" he breathes, his voice sounding sore.

"Hey, emperor." She smiles.

"What the- they handcuffed you?" Wolf sounds so enraged, it's a wonder he's not punched a hole in the wall yet. He pull keys out of his pocket. "It's a good thing Scar has family in the police force."

"You stole keys?" Cinder laughs.

"Borrowed, technically." Wolf unlocks the metal around Kai's ankle, wincing at the bleeding skin. "Stars, that's got to be painful."

"It's fine," Kai says softly.

"Unlikely, but we'll sort that out later." Cinder pulls him up, then frowns. "Where's Nainsi?"

In her ear, Cress makes a pained noise. "Don't! That's not a good topic! Just get out!"

She lets Wolf help Kai up the stairs, her gaze flying over the pieces of metal littered around the room.

Her heart breaks.

She and Kai had worked on the droid for so long. She doesn't even know if he'd managed to find whatever he was looking for in her storage files. Or maybe those files are why Nainsi had been destroyed in the first place…

"I'm going to kill them," Cinder mutters to herself.

"Cinder!" Thorne calls.

She shakes her head, sprinting up the stairs, Thorne helping her to put the shelf back before they follow Wolf and Kai. They're almost out of Kai's garden when Simone turns the corner and sees them, her eyes widening before narrowing in anger.

"Blazes, Wolf, run!" Cinder yells.

Wolf doesn't hesitate to lift Kai up with ease and speed up.

Cinder and Thorne block Simone's path.

Twenty six punches, thirteen kicks, seven scratches, two hair pulls and an unceasing stream of profanity later, Simone flips them off before retreating, muttering something about revenge and Rikan, or maybe revenge with Rikan, but it doesn't really matter.

Thorne and Cinder weakly high-five, groaning as they realise they'll both have a spectacular set of bruises in an hour or two.

"We'll be fine compared to her." Cinder winks.

"We're at mine," Cress informs them.

"So that's where we'll go," Thorne replies, his tone causing Cress to emit a strange squeak.

Cinder laughs giddily, "We got Kai."

"Stop giggling run, you idiots!" Scar yells at them.

"My ears!" Thorne wails dramatically, but Cinder agrees.

Cinder runs ahead of Thorne, not caring when she loses sight of him for a while. He catches up just as she gets to Cress' door, stumbling through the house to where she knows Kai will be.

He grins as he sees her. "Cinder!"

"Hey," she whispers, kissing his nose.

"Don't you dare let anyone pull the IV out this time," Dr Erland warns them.

"We won't," the seven of them chorus.

Kai grins, his dimples deepening as his smile broadens.

Cinder beams at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See, fluff! Mostly... Leave a kudos or comment?


	23. That Feeling

Cinder grins to herself as she pulls out her keys.

The keys to her own apartment.

She still can't believe she has a place to call her own.

The eight of them had collectively decided to move out of their family residences and share apartments, as close to each other as possible.

Their apartments used to be just one house but the landlady had split it into four living areas, two upstairs and two downstairs. All four apartments are connected in some way, and share the same staircase, but each couple has their own one to personalise.

Wolf and Scarlet had taken a ground floor apartment so Wolf could easily go running and Scarlet could easily access the garden to grow her fruits and vegetables.

Jacin and Winter had taken the other ground floor one, Winter has wanting to care for the floral section in the garden and Jacin wanting to be near an exit at all times like he'd been in his old house.

Cress and Thorne had taken the upper floor apartment because Cress claimed the WiFi was better there and Thorne had no problem climbing in and out of the window if necessary.

Naturally, Kai and Cinder had taken the second upper floor apartment, partly because it was the only one left, partly because that one had two studies so they wouldn't have to cram all their work in one, and partly because it had an attic and a balcony to watch the stars from.

She'd loved the idea immediately, using it as an excuse to get away from her technical guardians.

Pearl had been ecstatic at the idea of her leaving and Adri couldn't have cared less. Peony hadn't said anything and Cinder had almost felt bad for leaving her, but there's no way she'd have chosen anyone else over Kai.

Everyone else's parents had encouraged their decision as well, knowing that they weren't too far away and that this would help them become more independent – or rather, less dependent on adults and more dependent on each other.

As she climbs the stairs, she glances at the clock, feeling guilty for staying out so late.

"Kai?" she calls as she locks their front door behind herself.

"Study!" he calls back.

"You have got to stop staying up so late, you nerd." Cinder frowns as she sees Kai writing something, once again embracing his tendency to neglect sleep.

"Stop frowning at me, this is important," he says without looking up from his desk.

Cinder stands behind him and wraps her arms around his neck. "You need to rest."

"It's Torin's birthday soon..."

Cinder shakes her head, knowing he won't stop until he's finished with whatever he's doing. They're both pretty stubborn people so she can't exactly blame him for that.

As she watches his hand move across the paper and create flawlessly calligraphic lines of writing, she can't help but mentally compare his perfect handwriting to her messy scrawl, sighing as she does.

"I, for one, love your writing style," Kai says as if he can sense her self-doubt.

Cinder smiles gratefully, "Well, I love you."

He hums his version of the three words in response so Cinder unwinds her arms from around him and kisses the top of his head.

"Get some sleep," she murmurs softly.

Kai nods. "There's not much left."

Cinder shakes her head at him but ruffles his hair before leaving, planning to get some sleep herself.

She gasps as her arm hits the radiator, annoyed at the thought of a bruise.

She stretches, making a note to actually move the bed instead of just complaining about it every time she gets a small bruise. The two of them always plan what to do in the middle of the night but neither of them ever remember in the morning.

Yawning, she checks to see if Kai is back, rolling her eyes when she sees the empty bed. She hadn't really expected him to be there, even if she had hoped.

Pulling herself out of the warm duvet, she quietly opens their door and walks down to the study. Her face shapes itself into an expression of fond concern as she catches sight of Kai: He's slumped on the table, his head resting on his arm in what has to be the most uncomfortable position known to humanity.

Cinder kisses his forehead before gently shaking him and whispering, "Kai, wake up."

He stirs sleepily before blinking. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, you idiot."

Kai groans, rubbing his eyes, "What time is it?"

Cinder almost laughs, "Time for you to sleep. Did you finish?"

Kai smiles proudly, "Yeah... Why aren't you asleep?"

Cinder shrugs, pulling him with her as she makes her way back to their bedroom.

Since the apartment has two studies, they can only have one bedroom. They'd moved both the single beds into one room and slid them together, Cinder finding comfort in Kai being with her.

The two of them barely manage to stumble into their beds, giggling at their own sleepy laziness.

Kai's eyes shut as soon as Cinder lets go of him.

Amused, she sighs and throws a blanket over him, her mouth quirking as he sleepily kisses her cheek before sliding into unconsciousness once again.

Quite often, one of them will forget about their natural sleep cycle and stay up so late that the other one has to make sure they actually get into bed.

But Cinder knows that, despite arguing about it, neither of them mind too much.

Watching Kai collapse from exhaustion is frustrating and Cinder hates being helpless, especially when it comes to people she cares about.

Because she does care about Kai.

She cares very much.

She shakes her head, briefly wonders if this is what love should feel like, then stops asking herself that question because she already knows the answer.

She knows it is.

That feeling of another person acting as your querencia. That feeling of warm butterflies in your stomach whenever you're around them and the need to share smiles with them for no particular reason. That feeling of immediate comfort when you see them and the way you can talk to them about things you didn't even know you wanted to say.

That's the feeling of being in love.

That's the feeling she gets with Kai.

And she wouldn't trade it for the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> over 3k views on ffn, I can't even! Leave a kudos or comment?


	24. Painful Confusion

Cinder freezes as she sees their apartment door open. She knows she'd locked it before leaving so someone else must have come in. But why didn't Kai text her?

"Oh stars," she breathes as she sees her Aunt's heels at the door.

How had she found them here?

"Cinder?" Kai calls, his tone unnervingly calm.

He's usually more bubbly when she enters, either wrapping her in his warm embrace or exchanging a kiss. She doesn't even care that the mundane ritual would be classed as a cliché, something that would have bothered her had it not been for Kai's enthusiasm.

"Kai?" she asks uncertainly, dropping her bag on the side.

"In the living room." Kai's voice is still too calm for comfort.

She cautiously steps forward, a small gasp escaping her as she takes in the sight.

"Selene, how nice it is to see you again." Levana's icy smirk makes her stop at the doorway.

Cinder flinches as she hears her birth name, having left that behind after her mother passed away.

Kai mouths an apology from behind Levana, his arms held back by two men, each of them taller than Wolf. She'd be surprised at their height but she knows what sort of companies Levana deals with.

"What are you doing here?" Cinder hisses.

"I'm just here to see if your new boyfriend," Levana stops as she runs a manicured nail along Kai's cheekbone, "is worth my blessing."

"Don't touch him," Cinder warns, her hands itching to slap Levana.

"Oh, why? I have permission from his father."

Kai flinches so hard that the men either side of him have to regain their footing. Levana immediately looks interested, smirking.

"What, you don't like Rikan?" she drawls.

Kai shakes his head. "He's not my father."

Cinder's eyes widen as the words leave Kai's mouth. He doesn't meet her eye, as if ashamed, but Cinder can't look away.

"Then what is he?" Levana asks, pushing Kai's chin up with her index finger.

Kai glares at her, "He's not called Rikan and he's not related to me."

Cinder frowns, unable to stop him and, worse, unable to wrap her arms around him as a source of comfort.

Levana's smile turns dark. "Why were you living with him?"

Cinder can't help but ask the same question in her head.

Kai swallows, pulling his head back and sighing, "I wasn't."

"He was living with Torin." Cinder hears herself saying.

Kai nods at her, still not meeting her gaze. "I only stayed at his house for appearance's sake."

Closing her eyes to process the information, she hears Kai make an odd sound. Her eyes fly open in time to see Levana grab Kai's chin and turn his head from side to side, as if looking for something.

"How did he give permission for your marriage?" Levana asks.

Kai shrugs. "I don't know, a legal loophole perhaps?"

Levana's smirk returns despite her obvious uncertainty. "As long as it can go ahead…"

"Why are you here?" Cinder hisses again, more aggressive now.

Levana takes her time in replying, not looking away from Kai. "I think I like this one."

"You can't have him. You know that." Cinder steps forward but the lackeys on either side of Kai twist his arms and he grimaces.

Levana sighs, finally letting go of Kai and turning around, "You can't stop me."

Cinder moves to step forward again but Kai's face morphs into an expression of pain and she forces herself to stop, scowling.

"He is going to be my son-in-law soon…"

Cinder's rage freezes inside of her, turning into confusion.

"You never did take the time to ask me anything," a smooth, smug voice says from behind Cinder.

She whirls round, gasping, "You?"

"Selene, meet my daughter: Simone."

Simone winks at Cinder before pushing past her, her silver dress shimmering as she stands next to Levana and Kai.

This time, Kai's wince isn't because of pain.

"You have a daughter?" Cinder asks incredulously.

"Well, I'm clearly not her son, am I?" Simone rolls her eyes.

Levana shakes her head. "This matter of Rikan has to be solved. Who is he, if not your father?" she asks Kai.

"You'll have to ask him," Kai replies tonelessly. "I only found out recently."

"And how did you find out anything? You were in the basement!" Simone sneers, then something dawns on her. "The droid. That stupid droid was with you!"

And the pieces click for Cinder.

The storage files inside Nainsi must have held all the information about Rikan, or whoever he is.

Cinder's gaze softens and she looks to Kai, who must have discovered that when he was by himself, with nobody to share his confusion with. But, if that man wasn't Kai's father, who was he and where was Kai's real family?

Simone suddenly lunges forwards and pins Cinder to the wall, glaring at her. "Did you know?"

Cinder shoves Simone off her. "No, I didn't." she replies, glaring back.

"Would you stop that?" Levana sounds bored. "Kai, do tell me, where is your real father?"

Kai opens his mouth to reply but shakes his head, his eyes watering. He blinks and swallows, taking a breath before whispering, "He's dead."

Cinder and Simone both gasp, staring at him in shock.

Cinder never thought she could feel so much pain on behalf of someone else. But there's something about loving someone. Their pain becomes yours and, no matter what you do, you can't run away from their pain. The longer you're stopped from taking their pain away, the more of it becomes yours and the worse you feel.

Levana sighs, "Well, that's a shame. I'll just pretend Rikan is your father then,"

"Stop calling him that, that's not his name!" Kai manages to sound angry even whilst whispering.

"He can't give Kai permission to marry then!" Cinder yells at Simone, "You can't marry him!"

"I can too!" Simone yells back indignantly.

There's a muted thud, followed by the sound of something toppling to the floor. It's not a loud sound but it's enough to make both Cinder and Simone turn back to Levana.

"What did you do?" Cinder whispers, seeing kai lying on the floor.

"Relax, he'll wake up in a minute," Levana waves a hand dismissively, before rolling Kai over with the tip of her heels.

Cinder feels the rage wash over her and she shakes her head, "That's enough. Leave him alone."

"Why? Are you attached?" Levana strides over to her and grabs her chin, forcing Cinder to meet her Aunt's eyes as she sighs, "Why don't you listen? Our family does not need blithering idiots like him."

"Family?" Cinder forces out a bitter laugh. "You're not family."

"Oh, and I suppose dear old Solstice is?" Levana raises an eyebrow.

Cinder's confusion only lasts a minute.

"That was you?!" she yells, going to punch Levana in rage. "How could you?!"

Simone pulls her back before she can do any damage, muttering about anger issues.

Cinder glances at Kai, who's slightly stirring; Apparently Levana was telling the truth.

"We're leaving. But we'll be back," Levana warns, clicking her fingers.

Simone winks at Cinder before following Levana, the two men having left first, like bodyguards.

"Kai!" Cinder gasps as she realises Simone had punched her hard enough to leave bruises, but she ignores it, hugging Kai instead. "Oh, Kai…"

"I was going to tell you…" Kai smiles. "I'm sorry."

"Kai… I'm so, so sorry, you shouldn't be!"

"You're hurt," Kai murmurs, rubbing her arms.

"So are you," Cinder retorts, blinking back tears.

"What's new?"

Cinder giggles.

"Don't cry, empress…" Kai gently wipes her eyes with the side of his thumb.

"I love you," Cinder whispers quietly.

"I love you too." Kai kisses her nose.

Cinder knows she's decided never to leave him behind, no matter how complicated things get.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a kudos or comment?


	25. Everything Is Obvious

Cinder can't stop fidgeting.

She doesn't pay attention to whatever her English teacher is trying to say, knowing that she's probably going to fail her exam but not really caring.

She doesn't even bother to unpack her stuff, keeping her bag on so she can run out of the room once the lesson is over.

Cinder almost crashes into Kai as the two of them reach the same corridor.

"Woah, slow down, empress." Kai smiles.

"Kai, I..."

"I know."

Cinder just groans, "I want to kill Simone."

"You're still a student, please don't."

Cinder laughs, but it's a dangerous laugh. It's the kind of distracted laugh people do when they're secretly thinking of something else and trying not to make it obvious.

"Cinder, you're thinking again."

She winks at Kai as she bell goes, the two of them separating once again.

At this point, her teachers all know she's not going to pay attention, so it's not a shock to anyone when she just stares out of the window for the whole math lesson.

"Hey, Cinder?" someone asks.

She turns at the door, looking for whoever the voice belongs to. It's the boy with curly, pitch black hair that's probably never been touched with a comb.

"You are?"

He shakes his head. "A friend of Kai's. Ask Simone about her father," he advises.

Cinder's so busy frowning that she doesn't notice him slipping out of the classroom. Shaking her head, she pushes the boy to the back of her mind.

Cinder slides along the hallway, trying to remember which classroom Kai's last lesson was meant to be in. She almost goes straight past the room he's in, having to stumble backwards.

Her eyes widen.

Kai and Simone are spinning around each other. She assumes they're dancing, then remembers that common sense is a thing and tries to figure out what they're actually doing, which is fighting.

The two of them are exchanging punches and kicks the way Cinder and Thorne usually exchange insults.

As she watches, Kai blocks a punch from Simone and pushes her back, spinning on his left foot and lifting his right in the air so that it catches Simone's jaw. Simone shrieks but jumps back up, knocking out Kai's knees and elbowing him. Kai coughs but kicks her shin and she buckles just enough for Kai to whack his head onto hers.

Kai waits for her to get up, raking a hand through his hair. When she doesn't try to attack him again, he murmurs something to which she scowls.

"Fine, you win this time." Simone makes a show of wiping the dust off her dress. "You can't win forever."

"I've not had any problems so far and I don't see you getting much better any time soon." Kai folds his arms.

Cinder can't help laughing.

Both Kai and Simone turn to her, but only Kai runs to her and hugs her. "Hey, empress!"

"Stars, you can fight," Cinder laughs.

Kai grins, and Cinder spends far too long admiring his dimples, before turning back to Simone.

"You better keep your end of the bet."

Simone grits her teeth but nods. "You won, I accept that."

"Bet?" Cinder asks once Simone's angrily stormed out of the room.

"She didn't think I could beat her," Kai explains.

"Her mistake."

"Cinder, I can keep fighting her but there's next to no chance of her betting away the marriage."

"Why does she want to marry you anyway?" Cinder asks.

Kai raises an eyebrow. "I'm not actually that bad, you know."

Cinder's eyes widen for a minute before she catches Kai's amused expression. She shakes her head, laughing, and links their hands together as they walk towards the bus stop.

"You know what I mean!"

"I don't think she does want to marry me," Kai says thoughtfully.

"When's the last time you had an eye test done?"

"Sorry?"

"Because you've got to be blind not to see our current situation," Cinder finishes.

Kai rolls his eyes.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" Cinder giggles.

"I think Simone's just doing whatever Levana orders her to," Kai admits.

Cinder bites her lip.

"I don't know, but think about it. Why would anyone want to marry someone they've never even seen before?" Kai carries on. "And I'm sure you know how manipulative Levana is."

Cinder nods. "Why would Levana need you?"

Kai chuckles; Cinder cracks a smile before her frown returns.

"I don't know what she'd gain from… from an orphan…" Kai stops, his voice faltering. "I have to go,"

"Kai!"

Cinder watches as Kai sprints into one of the smaller roads opposite their school, unable to follow him until the stream of people getting onto the bus has thinned out.

"Cinder?" Winter asks.

"Take these!" Cinder throws her and Kai's bags at Winter before sprinting.

She hears Cress mutter something about being annoyingly mysterious before the buzz of students is replaced by the buzz of fading street lights. She follows the alley's twists and turns until she gets to what looks like an open field surrounded by trees.

"How am I supposed to find Kai here?"

She gasps as the unmistakable sound of a small explosion rings out.

"I guess that's how,"

She runs towards the sound, almost tripping over the weeds hidden in the grass. When she gets to the tiny clearing through the trees where the explosion had come from, she frowns.

"Kai?"

Then his arms are around her, his grin wide. "You're so slow!"

"Shut up!" Cinder mutters. "What are we doing here?"

"Orphan. I'm an orphan," Kai states, rather obviously.

"I know, and I'm sorry…"

Kai shakes his head. "No, you don't get it, Levana needs an orphan."

"I'm sure there's an abundance of orphanages she could have chosen from!" Cinder exclaims.

"Shh!" Kai places a finger on her lips. "There's also the fact that it would get back at you."

"What? Where are you getting all this information?" Cinder asks.

Kai makes a face at her, as if she's asked about the moon in a conversation regarding tomatoes. Cinder folds her arms defensively, trying her best to understand what he's trying to say.

"Levana wasn't born here and she can't get a citizenship so she can't stay here unless she has a valid reason."

"Right, and?" Cinder asks, never having understood laws in the first place.

"Her daughter getting married is a perfectly good reason," Kai says.

"Oh, stars…" Cinder mutters. "That makes a lot more sense,"

Kai shakes his head. "And I'm meant to be the oblivious one."

"Says who?" Cinder asks.

"Says you!" Kai laughs.

Cinder sticks her tongue out for lack of a better response, then sighs, "Why are we standing in the middle of a forest?"

"Haven't you heard? All masterminds grow their information on trees." Kai winks.

Cinder tries not to smile, she really does.

"I hate to affect that smile but we should go before anything else explodes."

Cinder stares at him in shock but grabs his hand and starts running.

Something explodes behind them but she ignores it, focusing on the feeling of running beside Kai.

Of being with Kai.

It's the only feeling she really needs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go, day 25 done! Leave a kudos or comment?


	26. Bless The Library

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I am a peculiar human being and as a belated thanks for 3k views on FFN and 200 on here, I am extending each of the last six chapters to around 2k words instead of around 1k. Why six? Because kaider has six letters ;) Yeah, okay, that's just an excuse but I think it works well!

Cinder wakes up with fear running through her veins.

She doesn't know what woke her up until she goes to wake Kai and finds his bed empty.

It'd be nice if Kai had just gone to get a glass of water or something but alas, Cinder knows that it was Levana, again.

There's a part of her that wants to laugh, a part of her that wants to cry, and a part of her that wants to punch a hole in the wall. Thankfully, she decides to do none of the above.

Instead, she doesn't hesitate to throw on joggers, a vest top, a hoodie, and the boots Kai had bought her. Quickly grabbing her phone and keys, she slips them inside her pockets and locks the door behind her as she leaves.

She pauses once she gets outside.

Levana wouldn't be stupid enough to take him back to fake-Rikan's house so there's no point going here. Gritting her teeth, Cinder tries to think of anywhere else she can look. After standing in the same spot for so long that she starts shivering despite the hoodie, she starts to move.

She ends up briskly walking towards the field from yesterday. She hadn't even had a chance to ask Kai why he'd gone there, simply assuming that it was to get the information he'd told her.

Her boots softly drum on the stone pavement as she hums to herself, trying to get rid of the silence that looms around her.

"Oh, blazes," she mutters as she reaches a dead end, knowing that she must have taken a wrong turn somewhere but unfortunately having neither good enough navigation skills nor a good enough memory to remember where.

"Forget this," she declares, running forwards and launching herself at the wall.

Luckily, she manages to grab onto something, pulling herself up so she's sat on top of the wall. She almost laughs, realising that she's at the edge of the very field she was trying to get to.

"Beat that, stupid wall."

She braces herself before pushing with the palms of her hands and jumping, bending her knees as she lands and rolling to one side so she doesn't break her ankles. It's not the most graceful of landings but she's injury-free and nobody's watching so Cinder doesn't care.

"Now, where's that stupid shed?" she asks herself, starting to walk.

Walking doesn't last long.

She starts running after a minute of silence, wanting to hear the wind noisily rush past her ears.

She's so engrossed in the sound of the wind that she doesn't realise she's crashed into someone until they're both on the floor in a heap.

"Cinder?"

"Kai?"

The two of them untangle their limbs and pull each other up.

"Are you okay?" Kai asks.

"I should be asking you that, what happened?" Cinder pulls him into a hug.

Kai pulls back far too quickly for her liking. "We can't talk here, come on…"

"Think again," Simone drawls, shining a flashlight onto them.

Or rather, crossing her arms as the two men behind her shine flashlights.

Kai groans but Cinder just steps in front of him, scowling.

"You are absolutely annoying," Simone declares.

"Well, I'm not just going to watch while you try to marry my boyfriend, am I?" Cinder hisses.

"How cute," Simone says dryly.

Cinder and Kai barely have time to blink before they're being lifted up. She can't move, her arms pressed against her sides as the man lifting her up starts to walk forwards.

"Let go!" Cinder yells, but to no avail.

She groans as she and Kai are carried to the same place where Kai had blown something up yesterday.

"Ah, Selene, why am I not surprised?" Levana smirks.

"Maybe because you're incapable of emotion?" Cinder asks as sarcastically as possible.

Simone smiles before clearing her throat, "Kai found out."

"Exactly how did that happen?" Levana asks stiffly.

Kai scoffs, "Perhaps its's due to the fact that you don't fully investigate your associates and nor do you take the necessary precautions for setting up a potentially incriminating information bank."

Three seconds of silence later, he's flying backwards until he hits the wall with a soft groan and a loud thud.

Cinder flinches. "What was that for?"

Levana narrows her eyes. "It should not affect you!"

"He's my boyfriend!" Cinder almost yells. "You can't expect me not to be affected when you throw him at a wall in a fit of rage!"

"Boyfriend," Simone echoes. "If he really was your boyfriend, he wouldn't run away, would he?"

Cinder frowns, craning her neck to see that Kai has in fact somehow disappeared.

"Where did he go?" Levana asks, her voice alarmingly frantic.

Cinder laughs, knowing Kai better than to assume that he's run off and left her behind. Regardless of their current situation, they'd decided that they wouldn't leave each other behind in any situation, whether it's an awkward conversation or a life-threatening fight.

"Right here," Kai mutters before the lights go off.

Cinder smirks to herself.

Cinder stiffens as a hand appears over her mouth but Kai's soft kiss to her head makes her relax and she takes his hand, following him without question.

He leads her through doors she wouldn't have even known existed until they get to what looks like a library, the walls covered in books. Kai lets go of her hand and shuts the door behind him, locking all eight of the locks.

"I used to come here with my mother, when I was little, when we didn't live here."

"Kai…" Cinder squeezes his hand reassuringly.

"I'm sorry I ran off after school, I'd just realised something."

"What?" Cinder asks.

"My mother must have known. When she… when she was sick, we stopped coming here and she kept telling me that this library was full of words that never should have been written down." Kai takes a breath before continuing, "I always thought she meant that the books weren't appropriate or something along those lines but I'm fairly certain that she was trying to warn me about the secrets."

"Kai, it's okay…" Cinder gently wipes his eyes, biting her lip so she doesn't cry.

"I don't have time to explain everything but, in simple terms, Levana needs her daughter to marry…"

"You said that yesterday too, but I don't get what Ri- what that man has to do with it," Cinder admits.

Kai bites his lip, his face crumpling.

"Kai?" Cinder asks, swearing as she hears footsteps.

"They won't find this room," Kai mumbles, his voice faltering.

"Then I can do this."

Cinder pulls him into an embrace, holding him tight. She doesn't let go when he starts shaking, when she hears his muffled sobs, or when he burrows into her hoodie. She only holds him tighter, hating that someone's hurt him enough to make him cry like this.

She doesn't even care that her leg is cramping because the only thing she really wants is Kai's smile back and for the shine in his eyes to sparkle like the sun. She wants his tears to go away, she wants him to stop shaking and she wants him to stop stumbling over his sentences. There's nothing she wouldn't give to hear his articulate sass once again.

"What happened?" Cinder asks softly, minutes later, once he's stopped crying.

"After my mother… after my mother passed, my father got sick too."

Cinder swears internally, never having cursed the universe so much.

"They told me he didn't have long left." Kai's voice is so quiet, so pained. "So I wasn't expecting it when they told me he'd made a recovery."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Cinder asks, feeling stupid even as the words leave her mouth.

Kai shrugs. "It should have been. They said he'd suffered memory loss and… many other complications… so he would… so he might act a little different to usual."

"I didn't think much of it at the time," Kai confesses. "I was just happy to have him back. Until I wasn't. Because he wasn't my father."

"What do you mean, he wasn't your father?"

"He was… different. Everything about him had changed: his outfits, his likes and dislikes, his dialect, everything…

She shuts her eyes as she realises what he's about to say.

"For a while, I accepted everything. For a long time, actually. Then… then Torin found me unconscious after… after a particularly bad… time." Kai shuts his eyes. "After that, everything changed. I moved in with Torin and stopped considering him as my father."

"Because he never was, was he?"

Kai shakes his head. "No, he wasn't. There was no medical miracle. My father had died, and nobody had told me."

This time, they're both lightly sobbing. Cinder couldn't tell you why she was, only that she felt the grief and anger Kai was feeling.

"That's what you found in Nainsi?"

Kai nods, sighing, "Levana had found someone who looked practically identical to my father and…"

"Levana?" Cinder asks, shocked. "What did Levana want with you back then?"

"It wasn't me she wanted at the time, it was my father."

"But he was sick?"

Kai shrugs. "I can't figure that part out either."

Cinder exhales. "You shouldn't have to, we're not even adults."

Kai laughs. "We're probably going to get detention."

"Or get killed." Cinder gestures to the locked door, not sure why she's laughing.

"Or worse: expelled," Kai quotes.

"Nerd!"

"Takes one to know one!" he retorts.

"Oh, shut up," Cinder mumbles, laughing still.

"Why does Levana hate you?" Kai inquires gently.

"I don't know," Cinder admits. "I just remember that she was always at war with my mother."

"I'm sorry," Kai murmurs.

"Why is family so messed up?" Cinder asks bitterly.

When Kai cries, it's soft and quiet.

But when Cinder cries, it's angry and bitter.

She can't mute her sobs so she ends up curled against Kai, crying into his shirt with her fists clenched in the soft material. Kai gently runs his fingers through her hair and hums as soothingly as he can until she finally runs out of ire and her tears stop falling.

"Hey, you okay?" Kai asks.

"That's a stupid question, try again," Cinder intones.

Kai chuckles before kissing Cinder's forehead. "Family can be more than blood, Cinder."

"How?" Cinder asks. "You don't get to choose who your family is."

"Of course you do. The eight of us chose to live right next to each other, and we spend every minute of free time that we have with one another. We study together, we fight together, and we respect each other. Isn't that what a family does?"

Cinder shrugs.

"Cinder, I know we're only young but I love you, and I consider you to be family," Kai whispers.

Now her eyes are watering for a completely different reason.

"I hate you," Cinder replies instead of disagreeing.

"I know, I love you too." Kai winks.

"I love you," she admits.

"I know, I hate you too."

She rolls her eyes at him but puts her hands on either side of his head before pulling him closer, her lips meeting his before either of them can breathe.

Cinder gasps as she pulls back. "Let me get one thing straight, you idiot."

"What?" Kai asks.

"No matter what happens to everyone else, you're part of my family."

Kai smiles, his eyes lighting up.

"I never thought I would cry in a library," Cinder states, almost frowning at herself.

"Nor did I but libraries are powerful places."

"Talking about power, how did you get the lights to go off?"

"My mother was a very cautious person," Kai tells her, almost sadly.

"Your mother taught you how to sabotage the lights? And I thought my childhood was weird…"

"You told me your parents taught you how to hotwire a car." Kai raises an eyebrow. "Isn't that a lot worse?"

"No, of course it isn't," Cinder insists. "That's in case I ever need to borrow a car."

"You can't drive!"

"Is this really the time to criticise my childhood plans?" Cinder huffs.

"I'd almost forgotten that we weren't back at home." Kai blinks.

"So, how long do we need to stay here?"

"Not long at all," Kai whispers before he places a finger over his lips and gets up, walking over to one of the shelves and pulling out a few books.

"What are you doing?" Cinder asks, curious.

"Magic!" Kai laughs gleefully, winking before dramatically spinning his hands and pushing his arms forwards.

And, like magic, the shelf swings backwards.

Cinder gasps, "You dork! That was amazing!"

Kai winks. "Ready?"

"For you? Anytime." Cinder smiles.

Kai beams, taking his hand in hers. "I hope so."

As they pull the bookshelf door shut behind them, Cinder drowns out her worry with Kai's smile.

And she smiles back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a kudos or comment?


	27. Blood And Water

Cinder stares.

It looks like a place that should be kept beneath some kind old worn out cathedral or in fraying picture books from the past.

The stone ceilings are just high enough fit them to walk but Wolf would have had to bend over. The walls are stone, the remains of white paint peeling off them. The floor is damp, not wet but certainly not dry, if the squelching of their shoes is anything to go by.

The place is lit with one line of faded yellow lights on the ceiling, meaning that you can't see more than a few feet ahead. Despite there being no rain, the smell of petrichor haunts the air, accompanied by the cold breeze that seems to flow in no set pattern.

"What is this place?" she asks.

"Blood bank," Kai replies tonelessly.

Instead of being shocked or recoiling like any ordinary human being probably would have, she frowns and asks: "Where's the blood?"

Kai almost chokes on his own laughter, his eyes shining with amusement.

"You'd be surprised," Kai says mysteriously, winking.

Cinder just makes a face, rolling her eyes; of course Kai wouldn't just give away secrets, even if they don't deserve to be kept.

"Come on, we have to hurry." Kai increases his pace with ease but Cinder struggles to match it, wondering how he can walk so fast without slipping.

"Do you come here often or something?" Cinder asks.

"I used to," Kai answers. "What has made you so inquisitive all of a sudden?"

Cinder shrugs, letting the silence wash over them.

They carry on walking until their path becomes increasingly colder, both of them shivering.

"I'd love to offer you a jacket but I don't currently have one in my possession," Kai admits.

Cinder glances worriedly at his shirt, then back to her hoodie, and bites her lip.

"Don't even think about it," Kai warns, "I am much more suited to the cold than you are."

"Says who?" Cinder fires back at him.

"Says the way you're shivering more than me despite wearing a hoodie," Kai murmurs softly.

"Shut up," Cinder mumbles reluctantly.

The two of them carry on in silence until they get to an old wooden door that, by all known scientific facts, should have rotted away into nothing by now.

Fortunately, the door still stands.

Kai shuts his eyes for a minute before simply knocking.

Cinder stares at him in surprise. "What are you doing?"

"Calling upon the vampire."

"What do you mean?" Cinder questions. "Have you gone mad?"

Kai shrugs, knocking again. She notices that his knuckles scratch against the wood on the door and the skin starts to bleed lightly.

"Kai!" she exclaims, taking his hand between hers.

"Vampire, Cinder, of course he's going to draw out the blood."

"Kai, vampires aren't real," Cinder snaps. "Did you hit your head?"

Kai only gives her a small smile in response, kicking the door because Cinder hasn't let go of his hands.

Cinder almost falls backwards in shock when the door actually swings open and a tall, pale man narrows his eyes at them, only to then stare at Kai in utter shock.

"Kai?" he questions.

Kai wrinkles his nose. "Greetings, vampire."

"Have I gone mad?" Cinder blinks. "Am I just dreaming?"

The man raises his eyebrows at Kai. "Who's your lovely… companion?"

"Cinder, she's my girlfriend. She's also extremely confused right now," Kai laughs, pulling her inside.

"You've already mentioned the vampire thing?" he asks.

"Yes," Kai confirms.

Cinder glances between the two of them, watching as the man glances at their necks, his eyes gleaming.

"You said this was a blood bank." She hears herself saying. "Why do you want our blood?"

The man steps closer to her, smiling at her with his alarmingly white teeth. She steps back and shuts her eyes, wondering why Kai is so calm about this.

"You smell frightened," the man states, tilting his head to one side and licking his lips.

"She's probably just still perplexed," Kai says from somewhere across the room.

"Kai!" Cinder almost yells as the man steps closer.

As she tenses, shutting her eyes and trying to hunch her shoulders to hide her neck, the man starts laughing. He steps back, doubling over and placing his hands on his knees as he laughs, glancing up and starting to laugh harder every so often.

"What in the blazes is going on?" Cinder asks, trying to convince herself that she hadn't been frightened.

"I'm so sorry." Kai's laughing as he apologises.

"What?" Cinder asks.

"To put it simply, girl, you fell for it," the man chuckles.

"I… I did what?"

"Oh, come on!" Kai smirks. "You totally thought he was going to bite you!"

It dawns on Cinder that Kai had just played a prank on her.

"I hate you!" she yells, lunging forwards.

Unfortunately, her plan of pretending to punch him fails and, while she doesn't punch him, the two of them overbalance and fall to the floor in a mess of laughter and groans.

"Cinder!" Kai mutters from underneath her, but he's grinning widely with a childish glee in his eyes. "I totally got you. I told you that I could prank you."

"Now, of all times?" she asks incredulously.

"Why not?" Kai asks, raising an eyebrow.

Cinder rests her forehead on his. "Okay, fine, congratulations, you win."

"Thank you." Kai beams.

She goes to stand up but her hand slips on the slightly damp floor and she ends up sitting back down on Kai's stomach.

He lets out a long breath, his face scrunching up as he gasps, "Ouch."

"Sorry!" Cinder blushes, scrambling off him.

He pushes his hair back into a quiff before sitting up, one arm wrapped around his stomach.

"Well, that was entertaining," the man declares.

Cinder had almost forgotten that she wasn't alone with Kai. She flushes again, mumbling an apology.

Kai uses the table as a ballast to get up, rubbing his head. "So, vampire…"

"You know that's not my name," the man rolls his eyes.

"What is your name?" Cinder asks, still unsure.

"Marble," Kai tells her before the man can reply.

"Marble?" Cinder repeats disbelievingly.

"Your boyfriend here named me that when he was an infant and the name stuck," Marble grins.

"Why did you name him Marble?" Cinder turns to Kai but he's already across the room again, looking through some papers.

"I can't be too certain, I was only an infant. Marble, where did the keys go?"

"We moved them," Marble replies. "Why do you need them?"

Kai seems to pause, even if only for a second. "For conformation."

Cinder looks between the two of them, frowning when she sees Marble glance Kai with a smirk playing on his lips. It's not a nice smirk, it's a smug one, as if he knows something they don't.

"What, you don't like his shirt or something?" Cinder narrows her eyes.

"I was just going to say that he should probably check the second drawer." Marble smiles.

Cinder walks over to Kai, nodding. "Thanks."

Kai glances at her. "We haven't got long."

"Until what?" Cinder asks, debating on whether or not to ask him if they can trust Marble.

"Until he tells Levana that we're down here," Kai says under his breath, smiling when she looks shocked. "I'm not that oblivious and I take drama class,"

"You're…" Cinder shakes her head, unable to find a word that accurately describes him.

"I'm aware. Duck!"

Cinder's eyes widen and she bends her knees in time to see a dart embed itself in the wall, knowing that it would have landed on her neck if she hadn't moved. She looks to see if Kai's okay, noticing the hurt look in his eyes.

"Remember what I said when you came over to work on Nainsi?" Kai asks.

"Be aware of your surroundings?" she asks.

"Never take your eyes off your guests." Kai smiles. "The reverse is equally as important."

It's then that she realises the hurt look in his eyes is because of Marble's betrayal and not an actual injury.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Cinder asks.

"Unfortunately," Kai replies as he nods.

"Good. Then I can do this."

Cinder jumps up, curling her fingers around the shard of glass she'd picked up before flinging it at Marble as hard as she can, not even caring if she actually hits him or not.

She grabs Kai's hands and the two of them run past him, pulling the door shut as they do.

"That was amazing!" Kai breathes as they run down the tunnel again, hand in hand.

Cinder smiles in gratitude as they get faster, Kai slowing down as they get to a point where the tunnel splits off into two. She half expects there to be some kind of magical whooshing of air that tells them which way to go but alas, there's only a deadly silence and their own heavy breathing echoing off the stone walls.

"Which one?" Cinder asks, panting.

Kai shakes his head. "I can't remember."

"Are you sure?" Cinder asks.

"Well, right can't be wrong, can it?" Kai offers her a breathless smile.

Cinder shrugs. "I don't really know where we're going so I can't say anything."

"I don't really know where we're going either; I hadn't expected Marble to be on their side."

"What did you find anyway?" Cinder asks.

Kai shakes his head. "I was wrong about Levana choosing me because of you."

"What?"

"She needs my bloodline," Kai tells her as they start walking, too tired to immediately start running again. "That's the only way she can stay in the country."

"What?" Cinder asks. "What stops you from leaving?"

"My father."

"But-"

"He's a politician and he's crossed people. Nobody in his family tree is permitted outside this country."

Cinder whistles, "What did he do for that to happen?"

Kai shakes his head. "I'm not sure."

"So, if Levana weds you to Simone…"

"She's 'stuck' inside the country,"

Cinder sighs. "But why now?"

"I've just had my seventeenth birthday, Cinder."

"Oh." She frowns. "You can legally get married."

Kai looks like he's about to cry so Cinder grabs his hand, smiling as best as she can. "It's okay, I'm not letting you get married."

"We should be concerned with A-levels, not a marriage."

"We can always do both?" Cinder asks, then stops walking abruptly. "Or we could worry about them instead."

Kai follows her gaze to the two men who clearly work for Levana, and groans, "Marble's work…"

Cinder nods. "Should we run?"

"Towards them?" Kai asks, making a face.

"No, you brick, backwards!" Cinder lets go of his hand as she turns.

The two of them run side by side, their feet echoing on the stone floor. Soon enough, the thudding of combat boots joins their shoes and they share a glance, unsure whether or not they can actually outrun the two men following them.

"Keep going!" Cinder shouts as they get back to Marble's room.

But they don't.

It would be comical, if it was any other situation.

Somehow, Marble manages to get his timing perfect and grabs Kai's arm just as he runs past the door. Cinder, unable to stop her momentum, only curses as his door locks, Kai having been pulled inside.

"Levana, I am going to murder you," she vows, clenching her jaw.

The two men catch up with her as she tries to unlock the door, and, before she can even think about trying to fight them, her vision darkens before going completely black.

She blinks, groggily rubbing her head and half attempting to start running again before realising that she's sat on a chair.

"What?" she asks herself, coughing.

"I wouldn't stand up if I were you, you'll probably fall over," someone says.

Cinder ignores them, standing up… for about a second before her knees buckle and her shins slam onto the floor.

"I told you," the voice says again.

Groaning in defeat, she looks up to see Simone. This time, she's not wearing any kind of tight dress, but something much worse: a white wedding gown.

"You're not going to marry Kai." Cinder's voice is rough but still deadly cold.

"Oh, and who's going to stop me? You?" Simone sneers.

Cinder just glares.

"Don't worry, we're not going to hurt him," Simone carries on. "At least, not yet."

"Kai's tough," Cinder argues.

Simone rolls her eyes. "You and I both know that he'll do whatever we say if his loved ones are threatened."

"Who's threatening them?" Cinder asks, trying to ignore the fact that Simone's right.

"You don't feel threatened?" Simone asks, cocking her head.

"Of course not. Fight me," Cinder mutters.

Simone laughs, making a show of wiping her eyes. "You're funny. Maybe we could have been friends?"

Cinder glowers at her, using the chair to shakily stand upright again.

"Then again, I'm sure I'd hate you just as much in any other scenario anyway. Or maybe I wouldn't have noticed you at all."

Cinder's knees collapse under her as she tries to walk forwards. She throws her arms out, trying not to whack her head as she groans.

"This is pathetic, I've had enough." Simone inspects her nails as she walks to the door, placing her hand on the metal beside it to make it slide open.

"I hope you know how to swim." She blows Cinder a kiss as she presses a few buttons before leaving.

As soon as the door closes, Cinder hears hissing. She doesn't understand what's happening until she sees the bottom border of the walls lift up, water seeping through the narrow gap.

"You can't be serious!"

The water isn't fast and nor is there a lot of it but it is slowly trickling in and the room isn't that big. Even if she can tread water, she can't suddenly learn how to breathe like a fish, and there's no way to leave other than the door, which apparently needs Simone's handprint to unlock.

The threat is imminent.

What on earth is she supposed to do now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I haven't proof read it, time flew away today! Let me know if you see errors! Leave a kudos or comment?


	28. Fully Grown Puddle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: implied drowning

Cinder stares at the water pooling around her feet.

Even though she's standing in the middle of the room, she can't escape the liquid seeping in through the walls. She doesn't want to think about why this room was originally designed but there's not a lot else to ponder, except how long she can hold her breath.

She tries banging on all the walls, prying open the door, disabling the security and whatever else she can think of. The water has reached as high as her knees by the time she decides she can't do anything and retreats to the centre of the room, folding her arms.

She stands there for longer than she should and she knows she should keep moving to avoid getting too cold but she doesn't feel like doing anything active, other than actively worrying.

It's completely unexpected when she hears the shrill sound of a mobile ringing, of her mobile ringing.

"Wait, what?" she asks aloud, patting her pockets.

Sure enough, her mobile is ringing inside her hoodie pocket.

"Oh, thank the stars," she breathes into the phone as she answers it.

"Where exactly are you?" Thorne asks immediately. "Actually, it doesn't matter, we can find out ourselves. Well, Cress can…"

"Thorne, I can't swim," Cinder says, barely hearing what he's saying.

"Swim? Why do you need to know how to swim?" he asks.

"I can't unlock the door from the inside," she carries on.

"Cinder? Cinder, calm down!" she hears Scarlet yell.

Closing her eyes, she wades through the water – that's now reached halfway up her thighs- until she reaches a wall, leaning against it and exhaling slowly. "I'm calm."

"What happened?"

"Levana."

She can hear Winter start to explain who Levana is in the background and she's only half surprised that they're all together.

"Okay, look, Cinder, just stay there, I can figure out where you are." Cress sounds like she's halfway to doing just that already.

Cinder laughs to herself as she looks around. "It's not like I can go anywhere."

She has to stuff the phone back into her pocket as something thuds against the door, only for it to turn transparent a moment later. She hadn't even realised that the door was just tinted glass and not metal.

"That's not good." She hears Kai announce quietly.

"Gee, thanks, I hadn't realised," Cinder mutters back, her voice shaky.

She regrets the words as soon as they leave her mouth but Kai smiles at her, his mouth quirking into a smile.

"I didn't think that such people existed who kept their sarcasm even in times of great peril."

Cinder laughs at his tone, walking over to the glass door.

"Are you okay?" she asks, her voice barely loud enough to be classed as a whisper.

Kai nods. "I'm not the one who's stood in a rather large puddle."

"Puddle?" Cinder echoes.

"A rather large puddle," Kai corrects.

Cinder shakes her head, leaning her forehead on the glass. "You're so strange,"

"That's why you love me," Kai whispers back.

"I know."

Kai lets his forehead touch his glass too, and for a moment she's back at home with Kai and they're both just having a lazy day, curled up on the sofa together, and there's no room that's slowly filling with water, and then Kai jerks backwards, his eyes widening.

"I've got to go, I'm sorry, I love you!" Kai smiles at her before pressing something that makes the glass darken enough to look like metal once again.

It's not even three seconds later when it clears again but this time she's faced with four men who look extremely surprised but not even remotely concerned to see her standing in what is definitely more alarming than a rather large puddle.

Cinder curses as they run on without sparing her another glance, knowing that they're probably looking for Kai, who's found himself the bad habit of escaping from people only to be caught again once he finds her.

They do leave the glass clear, though, so she can't say there's no such thing as a silver lining.

Even if she doesn't want a lining and she certainly doesn't want it to be silver. Perhaps if it was a foam lining, she could break it and leave the room so that she doesn't have to try her hand at swimming in the water that's now well above her waist.

There's nothing else for her to do other than listen to the strangely calm flow of water.

That is, until Thorne whacks his head on the glass, swears, fixes his hair, winks at himself, and grins.

She's never been so relieved to see someone being so vain.

She also realises that Kai was right: they are a family even without having the same blood run through their veins.

"In need of my expert skills once again?"

Cinder glares at him.

"Alright, alright. Well, you're in deep… water… so float off the attitude, deal?" Thorne smirks.

If she didn't know that terrible humour was his way to avoid panicking, she would have cursed him to the worst place on earth and back. But she does know, so she smirks back.

"Deal."

"Cress, start talking, if you will," he mutters.

"What did you do, take speech therapy with Kai as your teacher?" Cinder asks.

"What did I say about the sarcasm?" Thorne asks as he starts pressing buttons on Cress' command.

Cinder shrugs. "You didn't say anything about the sarcasm,"

Thorne makes a face, realising his mistake.

"Anyway, you can't say anything! You put your phone in your pocket," Thorne accuses.

"What else was I meant to do?" Cinder asks.

"Not put it in your pocket?" Thorne suggests, "You know, so that it doesn't get water all over it and shut down."

"Oh…" Cinder winces, pulling her dead phone out of her pocket.

She pries open the back and pulls out the battery so that it can't spark and send an electric current through the water, even though Cress had assured her that such a thing wouldn't necessarily happen.

She accidentally drops it when she realises that the water's reached her chin.

"Um, Thorne, care to hurry along a little?" Cinder asks, trying to keep her voice calm.

But it's hard to stay calm when there's an alarm blaring inside her head, warning her that Kai's about to get married and that she might drown, and that she can't decide which one of those scenarios is worse.

Thorne looks up, surprisingly panicked for someone who's usually so flippant, and mumbles something under his breath, probably asking Cress how to open the door.

Cinder starts kicking her feet, trying not to slip under the water but weighed down by her choice of clothing. She sucks in as much air as she can before purposely going back under the water, letting the cool liquid rush over her head, as she wriggles out of the hoodie, shoving it away from her as she kicks back up and gasps.

"Cinder?" Thorne asks.

She keeps kicking with her feet, nodding at him. "What?"

"Hold on," he replies, a strained smile flickering on his face.

"To what?" she tries to reply but her head slips under the water just as she goes to, and all that comes out is a stream of bubbles.

She gasps, pushing with her arms and trying to stay above the water. Her legs start to ache and her hair comes loose, becoming heavier and heavier until she can barely keep her eyes open.

Her vision greys and she can't tell if she's near the ceiling or the floor, her brain screaming at her to find oxygen but her lungs protesting that they don't know to extract it from the water.

She stops struggling, letting her eyes flutter shut.

She sighs with the last of her breath.

And then the water overtakes her senses.

She can smell the water, she can see the water, she can hear the water, she can taste the water, she can feel the water and she can start to become part of the water, but she can't breathe the water.

She starts falling, sinking, drowning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I wrote these all on the right day - check ffn / wattpad if you don't believe me - but couldn't get on a computer... Also, sorry it's 500 words short of 2k, I'd only had an hour or two in the vicinity of a device to write on! Leave a kudos or comment?


	29. Everyone Fights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: some violence

Cinder breathes.

Breath is such a fickle thing, sometimes filling you with the cool ability to function but sometimes leaving you so sequestered that you forget it even exists at all.

Most people don't pay attention to their breathing, taking it for granted, but it's hard not to notice when it's being slowly lured away from you.

But Cinder is paying attention because she wants to evict the ghost of liquid filling her mouth and taking over the territory of air.

So Cinder breathes.

For a long time, she doesn't question how she can breathe, she just shuts her eyes and lets herself take in the air she'd been so desperate for not so long ago.

Eventually, she realises that she can't spend so long focusing on her breath and simply ignore the fact that she's breathing in the first place.

"I'm breathing," she breathes.

"I know."

She blinks, trying to understand why she recognises the voice.

"Cinder?"

Now she knows why she'd recognised the voice. Even when barely aware of her surroundings, how can she not recognise the voice she'd come to lean on?

She doesn't respond, unsure of whether or not her vocal chords will let her form a proper sentence that makes any kind of sense, instead opting to throw herself forwards so she can wrap her arms around the boy in front of her.

He yelps, barely managing not to topple over and fall.

"I'm still breathing," she repeats.

"I thought we'd already established that."

Despite the fact that she can practically still feel the water surging though her lungs, she laughs.

She pulls away so that she can see him, keeping both her hands on the back of his head and watching the flecks of gold sparkle like newly formed stars in his warm copper eyes.

"Hey," he murmurs.

She's never been so glad to hear someone talking; she can't help but appreciate the english language and the way it can act as a comfort in flawless way the letters flow and how soothing it is to hear when someone's talking in a hushed whisper to try and make you smile.

"Kai..."

In answer, he kisses her nose softly.

She giggles, then gasps, "What happened?"

"You almost died." Kai looks away from her as he says it, as if wanting to hide his pain from her.

She gently pushes his head back so that he's facing her again. "I love you."

"I love you," Kai echoes back.

But it's more than an echo. Where an echo is hollow, empty, merely a mindless repetition, Kai's words are full of meaning care, and, despite being identical to hers, the individual affection that he feels towards her.

"What happened?"

"You've already asked me that."

"I don't understand, you were getting married..." Cinder trails off as she sees Kai wince.

She doesn't get a chance to ask him anything because a woman comes in and says something to Kai in a language she doesn't understand. He replies and the two of them start a conversation, glancing at her every now and then before the woman nods, apparently satisfied.

Kai turns back to Cinder with a wide smile.

For most people, smiles can be different sizes. They can be forced and they can be natural so they range from barely more than smirks to huge grins that make the person's face look like it's going to tear apart to wide beams that reach people's eyes and cause their faces to light up entirely.

But with Kai, each smile is a warm light in the dark, a shining star in the night, all the colours at once on a blank canvas.

He raises an eyebrow and she blinks, not having noticed that she'd been staring at him, a blush creeping onto both their faces.

"This is Dr Nandez. You can trust her, I promsie."

Cinder nods. "Where are you going?"

Kai cuts off his cringe and shrugs, going to say something but deciding not to and kissing her cheek before slipping out of the room before she can say his name.

Dr Nandez smiles warmly. "Are you in any pain?"

"Does confusion count as pain?"

Dr Nandez chuckles, "Thankfully not, or else my clinic would be swarming with patients all the time."

Cinder laughs, deciding that she likes the woman.

It's not too long later, only after a second blood test and a few bandage upgrades, that Thorne and Cress burst into the room.

"Oh, aces, thank stars that you're alive," Thorne says, his voice full of genuine concern and relief.

"You scared us!" Cress accuses, hugging her gently.

"What she said." Thorne rubs the back of his head awkwardly.

Cinder smirks at him but nods, appreciating his strange way of expressing emotions.

Cress suddenly narrows her eyes. "Did Kai tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Cinder asks.

Thorne and Cress share a look before Thorne coughs, "About the wedding?"

"Did it happen? Or did you stop it? I don't know anything about it yet."

Cress makes a sympathetic face and Cinder groans, throwing her head back in annoyance, now understanding why he wasn't telling her what had happened.

But of course he wouldn't want to talk about it. What kind of boyfriend would want to tell their girlfriend that they'd married her Aunt's daughter?

"Where did he go?" Cinder asks, sitting up with Cress' help.

Dr Nandez walks back in with a frown on her face. "Don't you even think about going anywhere in the next hour."

"The next hour?" Cinder echoes incredulously. "I can't wait a whole hour!"

"You can and you will." Dr Nandez points a finger at her in warning, the other hand on her hip.

Cinder huffs, watching Dr Nandez unwrap the bandage on her hand and clean the cuts she didn't know existed before fixing on a new bandage.

"Right. I've got to go and check on your other friend but I'll be back soon," Dr Nandez says, "Don't move."

She bins the old bandages before giving Cinder a warning glance and leaving.

"You're not going to actually stay here, are you?" Cress asks, almost sadly.

Cinder grins. "Either you help me get out or I'm getting out myself."

"That's the spirit!" Thorne laughs.

Cinder pauses as she replays what Dr Nandez had said, and frowns. "Which friend?"

Thorne and Cress look immediately confused.

"She said she was going to check on a friend. Who's hurt?" Cinder asks, chewing on her lip.

"It's probably Scarlet she's checking up on. Jacin took Winter back home and she's already looked over both of us so..." Cress shrugs.

Cinder nods. "She's okay though?"

"She's going to be absolutely fine, stop worrying," Thorne says, waving a hand.

Cinder nods, sending her worry to the furthest corners of her mind before she can focus on it and let it consume her.

"Anyone know how to disconnect this?" she asks, lifting her hand up and referring to the IV line.

Cress makes a show of cracking her knuckles without actually making a sound. "Let me."

Thorne and Cinder share an amused but proud look as Cress safely takes the IV drip out, ensuring that it doesn't bleed or give her blood poisoning.

Cinder smiles. "Thanks."

Thorne makes a show of cracking his knuckles this time, but actually managing to make the sounds, and nudges Cinder, raising an eyebrow. "Where to first?"

Cinder sighs. "We need to find Kai."

Thorne nods. "Agreed. There is the small matter of needing to shut down the security codes on the doors first though."

"Can't Cress do that?" Cinder frowns.

Cress smiles at the compliment but shakes her head. "This is an old building so I can't connect to it remotely. I need to be at the source."

Cinder chews on her lip again but Thorne nods with a determined expression. "We can get you there."

"How does this building have any kind of security despite being so old that Cress can't get into it?" she wonders.

Cress shrugs. "Your Aunt seems to know people."

Cinder sighs. "Yeah, that she does."

The three of them leave together, Thorne and Cinder in front of Cress. They manage to get out of what Cinder now knows is the makeshift infirmary and get past two empty corridors before they actually come across other people.

And they're not very nice people.

Thorne yells as a punch lands on his jaw and Cinder jumps into action, pushing Cress behind them even as she aims a kick at the one closest to them.

The kick lands on the girl's stomach and makes her reel back but there no time to be smug because the boy behind her hits a pressure point and Cinder staggers, clutching her shoulder. She hisses as the girl kicks her shin but kicks the boy where it counts and watches him stumble back before punching the girl's nose, her hand throbbing even as she girl gets a nosebleed.

The girl doesn't hesitate before lunging forwards, sending both Cinder and herself towards the unwelcoming floor.

Cinder manages to turn while they're falling so that the other girl lands on her back and she lands on top of her. She watches the girl wince and punches her before she can get up, barely feeling the girl's punches as she lands blow after blow on her, wanting to get revenge.

She breathes heavily as she girl groans and slumps in defeat, on the verge of passing out.

She doesn't notice herself fighting the other boy because he passes out far too quickly, obviously not as well trained, and she almost feels back for fighting him.

She and Thorne exchange an exhilarated look and nod at each other, still full of adrenaline.

"Are we just leaving them here?" Cress asks.

Thorne chuckles. "You're welcome to carry them, my darling."

Cress blushes but shakes her head and the three of them continue forwards.

They decide to avoid any more violent interactions, not that they'd chosen to have the first one, and spend far longer than acceptable ducking behind walls and running through random doors until they get to what Cress tells them is the control centre.

Not the main one where Levana's people are no doubt stationed, but the secondary one that can override just about everything.

Cress grins as they push the door open, Cinder and Thorne both running their shoulders as they follow the smaller girl.

Cress' nose scrunches up as she gazes over the machines in front of her. But she smiles in relief when she sees a computer, even if it does look ancient. She immediately finds a way to log on, laughing as the screen comes up with what looks like endless code.

Thorne makes a face. "I don't know how she can read that."

"The same way you can read the instructions on your hair cream," Cinder retorts.

Thorne rolls his eyes. "Oh please. I don't follow instructions."

"So you admit to using hair cream?" Cinder asks, laughing.

"It's called hair gel," Thorne corrects, smiling despite his pretentious tone.

Half a discussion about hair product later, Cress makes a victorious sound, jumping up. "I did it!"

"Congratulations, angel." Thorne grins.

"What did you do?" Cinder asks, confused.

Cress smirks.

It's not that Cinder didn't know Cress is absolutely deadly once you give her any kind of WiFi but there's something about someone so small wearing such a large, smug smirk that makes her want to hide, even if she has had her hair braided by said smug person.

"Every single lock in this place is now wide open," Cress says, smiling.

Cinder almost jumps for joy but she chooses not to make the effort herself, instead doing it vicariously as she watches Thorne twirl Cress around with a proud, loving smile on his face.

The three of them make their way back to the infirmary without encountering anybody, closing the door behind them with identical, relieved sighs.

An exasperated cough startles them.

Dr Nandez glares at them disapprovingly but there's a small smile lying on her lips.

"I'd ask where you went but it's pretty obvious that one of you is very skilled with computers."

"Why just one of us?" Thorne scoffs, but it's good natured.

Dr Nandez rolls her eyes, something none of them had expected. "Oh please, don't question my abilities."

Cinder laughs. "We're sorry."

The woman waves a hand. "It's not an issue, don't worry. Drink this."

Cinder catches the drink she throws and frowns at it before chugging it down, feeling guilty for wondering if it was poisoned when nothing happens and she feels much better within seconds.

"Is Scarlet okay?" Cress asks quietly.

Dr Nandez nods. "She's stable and recovering, don't worry. I'm afraid your tall friend probably won't be able to talk for a while but he'll be okay as well."

Curiously arises inside of Cinder as she tried to figure out what happened to make him unable to talk.

"It's not like Wolf's a scintillating conversationalist anyway," Thorne says, then makes a face at himself.

"Did you just-?" Cinder frowns.

"Use a phrase that Kai usually does?" Cress giggles. "He totally just did."

"Nobody tell the nerd," Thorne orders, still scowling.

Cinder's amused smile disappears as she turns back to Dr Nandez. "Have you seen him?"

The doctor nods slowly. "I think it's best you get to him soon. Levana is rather angry at him."

Thorne laughs. "We didn't tell you! He had a massive fight with Simone."

"And?" Cinder asks, confused.

"He's more or less okay but Simone's got a massive gash on her arm, so she can't really move it, a sprained ankle and she can't open one eye," Thorne says with pride.

Cinder can't help smiling too.

Cress whistles, "Where did Kai learn to fight?"

"I don't actually know," Cinder admits.

"We'll ask him later," Thorne decides. "For now, do you have any water?"

The question startles them but Dr Nandez nods. "Stay here. And actually stay here this time."

They nod, waiting patiently as she returns with three bottles of water.

Cinder glances at it, not wanting to see water again for the rest of her life. But she knows this water can't hurt her so she Ignores the spikes of fear inside her and unscrews the lid, gulping it in and loving the way it cools her throat down.

The three of them flop down on the floor while they stretch out their aching limbs and Cress braids Cinder's hair, claiming that it's a 'battle braid' and that she should have her hair styled like a warrior.

Thorne makes a confused face, muttering about girls being curious creatures, before he once again smiles at Cress.

Cinder rolls her eyes at him, knowing what he's thinking.

When you love someone, everything they do seems so much better, so much more skilled, and so much more impressive, even if it is confusing or seemingly illogical.

It's a smile she often finds herself directing at or receiving from Kai.

Even if the two of them understand each other perfectly, they don't necessarily understand exactly what the other is doing.

Once Cress has relieved her stress and finished Cinder's braid, the three of them stand up.

"What's the plan?" Thorne asks.

Cinder smiles.

She knows they've all been fighting on behalf of each other, in all sorts of ways, but it's not over yet. She half wishes that none of them had any battles other than exam grades, but there's no turning back when they've gotten this far. She might as well try to end this war.

"Let's go make my boyfriend a widower."

She just hopes she can.

For all of their sakes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go, 2.5k to make up for the last chapter! Leave a kudos or comment?


	30. Win Some, Lose Some

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: knives, blood, character death.

Cinder can feel her anger.

She can feel it burning in her bones, spurring her on as she marches through the stone building.

She's by herself, having all but ordered Thorne and Cress to go and find out about the others.

She's not sure exactly why she'd done that. She'd like to think it was because she'd wanted to protect her friends, but she knows that there's been this desire to face Simone by herself, to win with her own strength rather than the strength of her friends.

With every step she takes, with each solid thud of her boots on the stone floor, she can feel her anger spiralling louder and angrier until it's all that she can see, all that she can hear, all that she can feel.

And it only gets worse.

It gets worse because, instead of finding Kai or facing Simone, she's met with Levana's cold gaze.

"Selene?" Levana sounds outraged.

"I'm still alive," Cinder says plainly, a smirk playing on her lips.

Levana stiffens. "So I've noticed."

"Where's Kai?" Cinder asks briskly.

Levana raises a perfect eyebrow into a perfect arch. "Why would I tell you?"

Cinder grits her teeth, looking past Levana's sneer and scanning the room for any piece of information that might be remotely useful for finding the one she seeks.

"Look at me." Levana's usually sickeningly sweet voice is dark, laced with frustration and a hint of desperation.

Cinder only ignores her, knowing that Levana is fake.

She's not fake in the sense that she might vanish if you blink, but she's a different kind of fake where she puts on so many different faces and facades that nobody can tell who she truly is and so her daily routine poses the question: if you're never the same person twice, are you really real at all?

Cinder doesn't think so.

So she pays little attention to her Aunt, instead looking for a way to get to Kai.

Success.

On the back wall, a door, hidden by camouflage, as if waiting to be spotted.

Levana steps in front of it, filling Cinder's line of vision and blocking her path to Kai.

"I wouldn't disturb the newly wedded couple, it's bad luck."

"Bad luck doesn't work on those who don't believe it exists," Cinder hisses.

Levana only smiles.

But that smile, the smile that's constantly mirrored on Simone's face, sparks a reminder inside Cinder's brain.

It's funny how memory works, coming and going as it pleases, taking cherished moments and handing back old ones that you'd long since left behind.

And, in that second, Cinder's memory decides to rope back a recent event: a boy, from the back of a classroom, suggesting that she ask about Simone's father.

Cinder smirks. "Who's Simone's father?"

Levana's breath hitches halfway into its exhale and she narrows her eyes. "What?"

"Who is her other parent?" Cinder asks slowly, folding her arms as silence rings in the air.

Levana doesn't reply for a few seconds, then shakes her head. "Why does it matter?"

"You tell me," Cinder orders instead of replying.

Levana frowns again and Cinder can't help but think she looks a lot more peaceful when she's frowning, the action natural and genuine as opposed to her usual smirk, a clearly synthetic gesture designed to fear and intimidate, hiding what she really thinks.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Cinder shrugs. "Why not?"

"Because then you'd understand why both you and Simone are infatuated with that boy."

Cinder pauses, her resolve wavering as she considers Levana's words.

Levana strides forwards, her smirk widening and her malice growing, and Cinder steps back, not out of fear but out of confusion as she tries to untwist the messy truth she's been handed.

"Who is her father?" Cinder asks again, so much more confused now than she was before.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Levana's voice is soft but dark, menacing.

"Obviously, that's why I asked."

Cinder wants to sound flippant and sarcastic and in control but her voice wavers and she can't make herself loud because there's too may possible explanations running around her mind.

And then Levana whispers a name.

A single name.

A name that causes Cinder's heart to shiver and her mind to freeze and her blood to turn to ice.

Because it's a name she's all too familiar with. Because it's a name she's been hearing her whole life and still sometimes hers even today. Because she's grown up stumbling over the letters in that name, laughing at the meaning that name holds.

Because it's the name of her father.

She shakes her head. "No."

But Levana isn't lying, she's not warping the facts, and she's not trying to manipulate anyone. For once, she's telling the truth, plain and clear, and Cinder wishes that she wasn't.

She doesn't want it to be true.

But it is.

And Cinder is forced to stumble back as the truth dawns on her, and it's not soft and pastel like the sunrise, it's harsh and bitter and raw and full of words she wants to give back and throw at the universe, or perhaps a black hole, and never see again.

It's only now that she wonders if that boy was trying to help her or not.

"Do you understand now, Selene?" Levana questions. "You are my step-daughter."

"I'm not your daughter." Cinder shakes her head, clenching her fists.

Levana laughs then, a shadowed sound, and smiles. "You do not get to choose your family."

Those words are Levana's mistake.

Until recently, Cinder had believed those words to be fact, but now she knows better, and now she knows that Levana might tell some truth but she certainly doesn't always stay away from blatantly lying to get her way.

So Cinder shakes herself out of Levana's words and folds her arms, stepping forwards again to regain her status.

"You can't tell me that you think this is right."

Levana cocks her head, apparently confused.

"You can't tell me you think it's right to force someone into marriage."

Cinder shakes her head as Levana shrugs, and she starts to march forwards, so she doesn't notice the blade until it's brushed against her skin and lured the liquid rubies from inside her veins to the surface.

It's not a deep cut and it's definitely not worse than her other injuries but it's still an inevitable shock, like the way people can ignore a stab wound if they don't see it happening but they'll scream their heads off at the smallest papercut.

She winces, stepping back.

There's a grin on Levana's face that should never be on anyone's face, that shouldn't even exist at all.

But Cinder laughs.

She's so buzzed with alredaline that she ignores the sting of metal on her skin and snatches the offending object away from her Aunt to use as her own weapon.

Surprise is not an emotion Levana wants stories associate with herself but she can't help when it flickers on her face.

"What are you doing?"

Cinder just chuckles. "Did you really think any force on earth could stop me from fighting to find my boyfriend?"

Guilt is not an emotion that Cinder feels when she pushes the cusp of the knife into Levana's arm. It's almost surreal how easily she manages to complete the action, watching as Levana's features twist into a grimace and small beads of crimson start to gather at the new opening in her skin like prisoners escaping from their cell or water escaping from a dam.

She pulls the blade from Levana's arm and lets her stagger back, clutching her arm and cursing at Cinder.

Cinder just walks towards the door, smiling as it slides open with ease, courtesy of Cress, with a touch of WiFi, and she slams it closed behind her before she carries on down the hallway.

She's turned three corners before she hears the familiar tone of Kai's voice, his soft, muffled words filling her mind with how loud they echo inside her ears.

It's not hard to open an unlocked door.

Cinder's breath misses a beat as she walks into the room.

She can see the back of Simone's obnoxiously bright white wedding dress but the colourless fabric is strained with smudges of red that can't be anything other than blood.

She growls as she sees Kai standing in front of the wall, his shoulders rising and falling as he breathes heavily.

The two of them don't notice her at first, as she expects from those who are in the middle of a fight, but Kai's eyes widen and Simone freezes before she can deal her next punch, spinning round faster than should be possible in wedding attire.

"How are you still alive?" Simone hisses.

Despite the threat in her voice, Cinder's not paying attention because she's just noticed that Kai's continuously shifting his arms behind his back, and that he's not standing like that by choice, but rather, because his hands are handcuffed together.

"I never pegged you as someone to start a fight with an unfair advantage." Cinder raises an eyebrow.

Simone glares at her. "It's not unfair."

Kai scoffs behind them, "Exactly how was it not an unfair fight?"

Cinder doesn't know what she's doing until she's shoved Simone aside and placed herself in front of Kai, a protective scowl written on her face as firmly as the stars against the night sky.

Simone puts her hands on her hips and matches Cinder's scowl. "Why are you here?"

"My boyfriend is here."

"He's not your boyfriend," Simone says.

Again, Kai scoffs, "Speak for yourself."

She knows he wants to lace their fingers together but, since that isn't an option, he keeps his arm pressed against hers, his warmth feeding her strength and his presence acting as a comfort.

"Hey, Empress," Kai whispers, his breath brushing her neck.

She smiles. "Hey, Emperor."

Simone rolls her eyes but there's a hint of something else in her eyes, a sort of jealously that's born from sadness and regret rather than aggression and greed.

"Back off, Simone," Cinder practically growls.

"Why? He's married to me."

"Again, that was hardly my choice," Kai says. "I'm sure you're well aware of that fact."

Cinder bites her lip but, before she can even think about telling Simone that they're related in a way very different to what they'd thought, Kai steps forwards.

He steps right in front of her and Cinder suddenly has the urge to kiss Wolf because she remembers the handcuff keys he'd given her.

As she's working on unlocking the cuffs as subtly as she can, Kai starts to talk.

"Has she told you yet?" he asks Simone.

Simone frowns at him. "Told me what?"

"Has she told you what Cinder is to you?" Kai asks.

Cinder could swear her blood runs cold at the thought of Kai knowing Levana's secret. But she's not really surprised, knowing that Kai may seem oblivious but he's actually very resourceful.

Simone just looks baffled. "What? She's nothing to me."

As she says that, Cinder's done with his cuffs.

Kai rolls his wrists before entwining one hand into hers, the other raking itself through his hair, a small habit that he can never seem to shake, no matter how tough of an exterior he forges for himself.

"What are you two hiding?" Simone hisses, her voice leaking frustration.

"We don't have much in common," Cinder says. "but we do have the same father."

Simone takes a few seconds to process the information before she shakes her head. "You're lying."

"We're not," Kai assures her.

Cinder knows Simone will believe Kai because he has this natural air of innocence around him that makes you want to trust him, makes you want to spill your secrets to him, makes you want to listen to everything he has to tell you.

And so Levana's secret is revealed.

But Simone doesn't take the news as calmly as Cinder had. She screams and tugs at her hair and lets loose a torrent of curses aimed at anything she can see, before launching herself forwards.

Cinder doesn't think before throwing the knife forwards.

The piece of glass Simone had planned to stab Kai with creates a cut from below his collarbone to the back of his neck but doesn't penetrate his skin, and he's still alive when he stumbles, his back hitting Cinder's chest.

Cinder puts her arms around him, kissing his shoulders because he's alive and Simone was planning to kill him but he's still breathing and it's okay because he's fine.

A strangled scream leaves Simone's lips as her knees buckle and her body crumples, sobs escaping her as she falls to the ground.

Kai gasps, slipping out of Cinder's hold as he kneels beside her.

"I'm so sorry..." he whispers softly.

Even if there is an odd sort of relief within her, she can't help feeling remorse for the girl, for her sister.

"You're the best," she says to Kai before her eyelids flutter and she moans, her skin paling when she curls up and her breathing deepening as she slips into unconsciousness.

Kai whispers something before softly kissing her forehead and Cinder squeezes her hand.

"I'm sorry," Cinder mumbles sadly.

Kai squeezes his eyes shut, shaking his head. "This wasn't fair either."

Cinder nods because she doesn't know what else to do.

The two of them leave the bride lying on the floor, their fingers intertwined as they walk out of the door.

It's both sad and happy and Cinder decides that emotion is a spectrum rather than a set of options. Emotions are like colours, all individual but with endless shades and merged colours and multitudes of combinations that mix them all together.

Cinder tightens her grip on Kai.

He's her anchor.

And he's alive.

That's all that matters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fyi Simone was based on a reviewer on ffn and wasn't just a random oc ;p Y'all ever read a fic that's literal poetry? I read one earlier and I can't even deal with how talented people are! Kudos to all you writers! And readers! Leave a kudos or comment?


	31. Peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BoyxBoy kiss. Don't like? Don't read.

Cinder almost laughs.

She can't believe that they're back in school.

It seems outrageous that they can be back at their lockers and nobody else knows what's happened or what they've gone through.

Winter's still not in because she'd caught some kind of flu and Jacin's mysteriously ill, totally not because he wants to stay with his girlfriend, no...

Cinder doesn't have any classes with Kai so she kisses his cheek goodbye before heading to her computing lesson.

Not that she pays any attention.

She concentrates in class and gets the work done, ignoring the curious whispers of those who just want something to gossip about, but if you'd have asked her to recall individual moments or conversations, she most certainly wouldn't have been able to.

She doesn't start properly focusing on anything until she gets to the end of the day, meeting Kai at the Oak Tree.

"Hey, Empress." Kai smiles.

Cinder beams. "Hey, Emperor."

"I have a cavity," Thorne declares dramatically, clutching his chest.

"Shut up, captain," Cress orders as she elbows him.

Cinder laughs as Thorne yelps, scowling.

"Thanks, Rapunzel." Kai puts an arm around Cress' shoulders as they walk.

Throne groans until Kai and Cress break apart, returning to their respective partners with matching smug grins and a shared eye roll.

Scarlet laughs behind them, "You're all so immature."

"You guys freak out over fruit!" Cinder argues.

"Just the tomatoes!" Wolf exclaims defensively.

"You're not really making this better," Thorne says, laughing.

"Where are we headed?" Cress asks.

Apparently, only Kai hears her so he's the one who chooses. "I say we head to the new ice cream place!"

"Why are you choosing?" Thorne asks indignantly.

"I'm choosing because none of you were paying attention to Rapunzel."

Cress giggles. "Yup, it's your own fault."

"Why are you arguing with ice cream anyway?" Cinder asks. "You've never had a problem with it before."

Thorne sighs, "Fine. What's this new place anyway?"

"You guys remember Émilie?" Scarlet asks. "My friend from last year?"

"It's her place?" Cinder asks, shocked.

"Yeah. She decided that she wanted something cooler than a restaurant," Scarlet says, failing to keep a straight face.

Even Wolf laughs as the six of them walk on.

The place is surprisingly empty when they walk in, perhaps because nobody wants to be seen out in public wearing a distinctive school uniform.

"Scarlet!" Émilie grins as they enter. "Long time, no see!"

"We had some family things to sort out."

Cinder smiles to herself at that, truly considering this varied bunch of people as a family.

"Introduce me?" Émilie asks.

"I'm Thorne," Throne says before anyone can say anything. "And that's my girlfriend Cress and that's her girlfriend Cinder and that's her boyfriend Kai and unfortunately his boyfriend Jacin and his girlfriend Winter aren't here but that's Jacin's boyfriend Wolf and you already know his girlfriend Scarlet, right?"

"Uh..." Émilie frowns.

Cinder feels bad for Émilie but Thorne isn't wrong and they've agreed to let him introduce them in his style because, no matter what order he says everybody in, it's always hilarious to see the other person's reaction.

The six of them settle immediately, Scarlet going up to order because she refuses to make Émilie work so hard when they're friends.

Cress makes a face as Thorne and Wolf start taking about sports class.

"I could just give us all the highest grades?" she suggests casually, as if hacking into an education system is an everyday thing that loads of people discuss all the time.

"That would be cheating." Kai shakes his head. "Plus, it's not as if the school would believe that."

"They couldn't prove otherwise, could they?" Cinder asks.

"It would just give them a better reputation." Thorne shrugs.

"We're not doing that because we're all going to study and pass," Scarlet declares as she sits back down beside Wolf.

"Thorne will just copy Kai's english papers anyway," Cinder laughs.

"Just write it about how terrible Thorne is." Wolf smirks.

"That's not a bad idea!" Kai grins, nudging Thorne, who's literally pouting.

"Yeah well, Wolf's just going to copy Scar's food tech exam anyway," he grumbles.

"That's because I let him." Scarlet rolls her eyes.

"Let him? You practically order him to," Cress says, smiling.

"What's your excuse?" Cinder also Thorne.

"Scholar Boy doesn't complain!" Thorne replies.

Kai throws his hands up. "Do you suffer from temporary memory loss after each time we argue?"

"Even I remember most of them, and I don't even pay attention." Cinder raises an eyebrow.

"Your opinion isn't equitable anyway! You just side with your boyfriend..." Thorne mutters.

"That's because I'm correct," Kai laughs.

"Ice cream!" Émilie announces, somehow balancing six bowls in two hands.

Each of them laugh in appreciative astonishment, taking their bowls from her.

"Why don't you join us?" Kai asks.

Émilie shakes her head. "Are you kidding? I'd be even worse of a seventh wheel than Leo was."

"Who's Leo?" Wolf asks.

Émilie smiles. "Enjoy the ice cream, guys."

"You got caramel too?" Thorne asks Kai, his jaw dropping.

"Well, you know what they say..." Scarlet smiles mysteriously.

"What?" Thorne asks.

"Two people with the same taste in ice cream are two people destined to stay together in life."

Cinder laughs, sharing a smirk with Kai.

Kai leans over and kisses Thorne's cheek, winking at Cress. "Sorry Rapunzel, the ice cream speaks for itself."

"I'd be annoyed but Thorne's expression is hilarious." Cress seems to be finding it hard not to laugh.

Thorne narrows his eyes at Cress. "Would you prefer if I did this?"

Kai's eyes widen in shock just before Thorne leans forwards and kisses him. Properly kisses him as if a natural action they both do every day and as if they're both used to it.

Cinder, Cress, Wolf and Scarlet stare at them in shock.

Both Thorne and Kai have expressions of disbelief written on their faces as they pull back, catching their breath.

Émilie whistles.

Kai and Thorne both salute at her, shaking their heads and laughing.

"I'm impressed, I didn't think you'd do that," Wolf admits, chucking.

Cinder smirks. "I'm sure it wasn't that bad, Kai's a great kisser."

Kai runs a hand through his hair as he grins. "That was an interesting experience."

"I second that." Thorne rubs his neck.

"You're both crazy," Cress shakes her head.

"That's the way we like it," Scarlet laughs. "Now, everyone eat their ice cream."

Émilie laughs from across the shop, apparently having used them as entertainment.

Thorne and Kai share a bewildered look before shaking their heads again.

Cinder smiles at them.

Especially when Kai keeps one hand laced with hers, both of them managing to successfully eat their desserts with one hand.

The six of them finish ages later, spending way too long just talking.

They go back to Winter and Jacin's apartment once they're done, because obviously they're not spending a day without all of them together.

They don't do much, squashing onto the sofa so they can watch a film.

Eventually, the guys all head off to the other side of the room to play Ludo, the girls shifting closer together and settling properly with the cushions and everything.

Cress absently starts to braid Cinder's hair and Scarlet helps Winter braid Cress' in return.

"Anyone else want to reveal crazed members of their family so that we have some kind of warning next time?" Scarlet asks.

"I don't actually know what happened to Levana so..." Cinder says.

Cress sighs, "Great."

"Where did Levana go?" Scarlet asks. "She can't have just vanished into thin air."

"Maybe she vanished into thick air?" Winter asks, laughing.

Cinder yelps as Cress accidentally tugs her hair whilst laughing too hard.

She sees Kai's head snap up in alarm and laughs, but her heart smiles anyway.

She also sees Thorne nudge him and mutter something that causes the two of them to start another rapid argument. They might joke about Thorne copying Kai all the time but he's one of the few people who can keep up a fast paced argument with him for so long, even longer than Cinder can, not that Cinder and Kai ever really argue.

The four of them carry on languidly fixing each other's hair, only half paying attention to the film in the background.

Cinder has to join in with Cress' hair once Cress is done with hers, the three of them having to work around each other to finish the braid they'd started. It comes to them with ease, the four of them used to such things by now.

"Why did you start such a complicated one?" Scarlet asks once they're done.

"It just sort of happened," Winter replies, shrugging.

"Thanks," Cress says, twirling as her hair flicks around her waist.

Thorne's behind her in an instant, picking her up and spinning with her. She shrieks, laughing and grabbing onto Thorne to steady herself.

"And you call us sickening?" Kai asks, laughing.

"You're sickening," Thorne retorts, rather pointlessly.

"That's not what you were saying earlier!" Cinder calls.

Cress giggles, "He wasn't exactly saying anything."

"Scar, we have to go," Wolf says, changing the mood of the room.

Scarlet glances at Cinder's watch before making a face and jumping up. "I almost forgot! Let's go, let's go, let's go!"

"You act like I'm not the one who reminded you," Wolf mutters, but not unkindly.

The two of them head off, waving goodbyes and rushing farewells as they shut the door behind them.

Winter laughs. "They're so in love."

"Aren't we all?" Jacin asks.

"All in love with each other?" Cinder asks.

"Of course," Kai grins.

"That's what most people must think anyway," Thorne says, obviously referring to his confusing introductions.

"I'm pretty sure the whole school avoids talking to us in case they get seven people after them," Cress admits.

"Well, they're not wrong." Kai winks.

Winter jumps as the film starts to play the ending song.

"Which film is that anyway?" Kai asks.

Winter shrugs. "No idea."

Kai goes to ask when Cress suddenly stumbles, elbowing Cinder, who headbutts Thorne, who falls into Winter, who hits Jacin, who accidentally kicks Kai.

"Ow!" all of them grumble.

"My bad." Cress blushes.

Winter gasps as there's a knock on the front door. "That's the landlady. I'd forgotten that we'd invited her over today!"

Jacin groans, "Guys, you need to avoid the front door."

"The back door awaits." Thorne winks.

Cress, Cinder and Kai follow Thorne as he heads to the kitchen door that leads to the garden. The four of them wait until they hear a conversation starting before sneaking round the front of the house, running to the stairs as quietly as they can, which is very quietly because they've done this way too many times.

They whisper goodbyes to each other as they enter their own apartments, Cinder letting herself laugh out loud as they shut the door.

"We're all terrible," Kai declares.

"Terribly talented," Cinder corrects.

Kai shrugs. "Same thing, when it comes to us."

"So, what's the plan?" Cinder asks.

Kai raises an eyebrow.

"No, we're not playing chess," Cinder says immediately.

Kai laughs, "Still not over that?"

"It should be called a castle!"

"Castles don't move!" Kai argues.

"And the little ones should be called soldiers!"

"They aren't initiating a battle!"

"Since they don't have free will, they should at least have a good title!"

"And I suppose you consider 'soldier' to be the best title they can obtain?"

"It's better than what they're called!"

"Do you even know what they're called?"

Cinder huffs, "It obviously not that good a name if I can't remember it."

Kai chuckles, kissing her.

She gasps, the feeling of warm explosions spreading across her skin and her eyes closing with the comfort of the gesture because no matter how many times they do this, the bubble of love that builds insider her stays the same.

His arms are around her waist, his hands flat against her back, and her hands are tangled in his hair as Cinder tilts her head back and Kai leans down, both of them turning their head slightly so their noses don't crash.

Cinder smiles as they pull apart. "Now that's something I can remember."

Kai laughs and brushes his nose against hers. "And what's that called?"

Cinder shrugs. "Kai."

"I love you," Kai whispers.

"I love you," Cinder whispers back.

"Why are we whispering?" Kai whisper asks.

"I don't know," Cinder says normally.

They both laugh, settling onto the beanbags they'd put in their living room instead of a sofa.

Kai puts an arm around her shoulders and she smiles, leaning against him with a soft smile.

"I think you're the first person that I've truly loved," Cinder admits.

"I think you're the first person that I've truly fallen in love with," Kai confesses.

Cinder's never felt so content in her life.

She finally understands why people say that home doesn't have to be a place.

She's at home when she's with Kai.

She's at peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you guys not think wolflet and jacinter are less common favourites because of how little they're elaborated on? That's what fanfic is for, I suppose. Anyway, Leave a kudos or comment?


	32. Birthday Bonus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A double update?? Why?? Because it's Bella's first day of being a teenager! (reviewer on ffn)

Cinder claps.

In fact, all eight of them clap.

They're back at their school, watching the summer talent display, which is basically all the creative groups at once.

They'd all helped out, of course.

Kai had helped the poets and song writers, Thorne had helped anyone with stage fright, Scarlet had helped with the scenery layout, Winter had helped with the stage decorations, Cinder and Cress had helped with the technical aspects, Jacin had helped with the set up and transitions, and Wolf had helped with selling and checking tickets.

They'd all put their best into it and now they're sitting, watching.

They clap loudly as each act does their part, any small hiccups being quickly covered up.

The last act had been a surprise for all them, the girl usually laying low and keeping to her books. But her parents had convinced her to take part and none of the eight had argued, knowing that she was talented.

As the girl walks up onto stage, her shimmering blonde curls braided into a mesmerising design, the hall goes silent.

The girl smiles and takes her spot as the music starts. They all watch as she gracefully starts to move, each action fluid and precise. It's energetic and daring, her toes pointed and her fingers stretched. She glides across the stage almost effortlessly, her iridescent outfit shining as she twirls under particular lights.

Every one of her moves is magical and beautiful, her expression never faltering and her choreography stunning. Her dance is the music and the music is her dance as she dances, every gaze fixed on her.

When she stops, her green eyes are sparkling and she's beaming widely.

Cinder whistles, smiling at the girl and her wonderful finale.

"And give it up for Bella!" the principal announces, walking into the stage.

Bella smiles and heads backstage while the principal finishes his ending speech.

Cinder turns to Kai with a smile. "She did it!"

"And she was perfect." Kai smiles.

"Show's over." Cinder entwines their hands. "What do we do now?"

"We go home." Kai winks.

"I'm always home when I'm with you," Cinder says softly.

"My lactose intolerance hates us right now," Kai laughs.

Cinder giggles.

"Should we go get ready for the bow?" Kai asks.

Cinder nods, and the two of them make they're way back to the stage, where everyone else is lining to hold hands and bow to end the show.

Cinder smiles as she sees Bella. "Hey, you were fantastic!"

"Thank you!" Bella smiles back, her voice bubbly and full of exhilaration.

Cinder takes her hand, her other one obviously linked to Kai, as they walk out on stage, smiling and laughing as they see everyone clapping and some people crying because it's the last show they'll ever take part in.

Cinder's just glad she'd gotten the chance to work with all of her friends, even if they were all helping out in different areas.

She doesn't really care what they're doing as long as it's together. After all, if you can help try to prevent a marriage, fail, and then attempt to make the groom a widower to stop a crazed family member from taking revenge, what can't you do?

She almost with happy laughter at the thought.

And Cinder smiles.

- **END OF CHAPTER-**

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BELLA

- **A/N-**

Okay, thank you to everyone who has read along! As of the previous chapter, right now, thank you for 235 hits, 18 kudos, 5 comments and somewhere over 40k words, plus a lot of authors notes :)

I wasn't sure I'd be able to upload every day but I somehow managed? And did twice the amount for a while as well?

Sorry, I realise that there must be a lot of mistakes...

Now, y'all have some desicions...

**Which ship?**

_Within the four main ships,_ _I'm_   _more inclined to Kaider or Cresswell as I'm not sure how well I can write Wolflet and Jacinter. Also, I can try a non canon ship if you like, whoever you want together._

**Heavy or Light?**

_Do you want a fluffy fic with lots of cute things or one with darker, more mature themes?_

**AU or OOC?**

_Not sure that my writing can be canon but do you want then to be as similar to themselves as possible in a different world or maybe swapped personalities and / or roles? This one can be neither for both if you like._

**Particular trope?**

_Do you want to see them in a particular setting? Eg. Pastel and Punk, Gang AU, Werewolves and Vampires, Enemies to Friends, Fake Foes?_ _Soulmate AU? I love Soulmate AUs..._

**Particular prompt?**

_Did you guys see a prompt or headcannon and go 'this has to be this ship' and you want me to maybe try writing it?_

**Let me know!**

I probably won't be doing this for a while, definitely not August and I'm not sure about September. I have a few other fic ideas I'd really like to work on...

I am going to be slowly adding to my other Kaider fic 'All Because Of A Car' if you'd like some lighter Kaider for now.

If you're reading this and I've not added another author's note to announce the next fic, feel free to let me know your preference!

Blaze out! Peace :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a kudos or comment?


	33. Future Ideas

**-BEHOLD: SOME IDEAS-**

Okay, y'all, I have some ideas.

Well, y'all had some suggestions and I combined them with my plans so they turned those into the ideas.

Most of this is a response to reviewers on ffn so my apologies if it sounds really random ;)

I don't think I'll be doing a Romeo and Juliet style story because I don't want them both to die. Honestly, I get so confused when people use that as that's actually a weird example of a love story because neither of them survive? Nothing against y'all, I agree that the idea of star-crossed lovers is really sweet, but the lurking tragedy is a little off-putting and I don't think I can write or handle both their deaths...

At least, not yet.

_cough cough cough_

So, a lot of Kaider has been requested.

I'm all for it but if I do it, it'll be something weird as I don't want to copy the same story loads of writers have done before me!

I was thinking maybe a reverse cinderella? Where Kai's somewhat a pauper who's family had unfortunately faced bad luck and Cinder is a royal who really doesn't want to get married until she meets Kai? I mean, she IS royalty and the reverse might be interesting to say the least.

Either that or a Soulmate AU so "marks and writing on your skin appears on their skin", "the world is grey until you see your Soulmate" or shared thoughts, timers, red string etc.. Not sure which au though, might be a mixture of a few?

As for Cresswell, I want to do a Pastel / Punk au for them where Thorne's in a gang who steal and when he goes to steal a vehicle from this fancy house, he finds Cress locked inside by Sybil and steals her heart instead. How's that sound?

Okay I'm actually kind of really digging Kaiswell (Kai and Thorne in case you didn't get that) and I've liked the idea for quite a while so I really want to do an au where Kai's part of the soldiers who are hunting the werewolves and Thorne's the alpha who's fascinated by this clueless, pacifist, ridiculed hunter who's terrible at hunting.

**Opinions?**

_Peacefully blazing out!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, my idiotic brain just connected the dots and realised that lovelunarchron left a kudos and I'm kind of yelling because they've written amazing cresswell fics that I absolutely adore!


	34. Just A PSA

I don't think this really classes as a public service announcement, it's more like a puny schedule alert, but hey...  _* shrugs *_

Thank you all so much! Love you guys for reading the story, and special thanks to those who left kudos or took the time to write a comment! I can't tell you how much I appreciate it!

This story now has 273 hits and 18 kudos my current mood is  **'asdfghjkl'**

Also, is 'fanboying' a thing? I've only ever heard people say 'fangirling' regardless of what gender the person is so is that just the umbrella term? Because I don't want to offend anyone using that as a title! Just know that when I say it, i mean girls, boys, both, neither, and anyone in between.

Moving on to the stuff y'all might actually want to read!

For the next month fic, I believe I'll be doing soulmate AUs.

(unless there's a sudden change of plans)

This is because I don't want to disappoint anyone by missing days and soumate AUs are very fun and not too difficult to write! I won't just do one AU, It'll be loads of them one after the other, some maybe finishing in a day and some over a few days.

If you guys have any requests for that,  **don't leave them as a comment on this fic**  - I'll make a new book with a tiny fangirling chapter published so you can comment and  **ask me there so i can see it!**  If nobody requests, I'll just go with whichever AU comes to mind that day :)

Oh, and, i'll probably go with either Kaider or Cresswell AUs but request whichever you like - literally any ship within the lunar chronicles! I'm happy to try what you guys want :)

The Cresswell and Kaiswell ones I will start as maybe weekly or fortnight update stories. It depends how long the chapters will be. I mean, would y'all prefer shorter chapters and quicker updates or longer chapters and slower updates?

Also, I am still making my way through the education system so I can't promise I'll be able to update too fast once the holidays are over so sorry in advance!

_* makes peace sign with fingers *_

_Blaze out, peace!_


End file.
